Interview with the Assassin

Blair Witch Project meets Oliver Stone's JFK and puts both to shame. Nasty, brutish, and short (85 minutes) and true to life in every other way too. Highly sophisticated and intelligent, it cuts right to our most primal fears while presenting itself in a deceptively primitive fashion. Explores the shadows in our recent history and national psyche with acute, paranoiac vision.

Not knowing what to expect, I recorded this on broadcast TV and was riveted from the opening scene. I usually like movies about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and this was a great example.

The sense of place and tension was gripping, even with no soundtrack. The very lack of music added to the stark feel. A subtle scene involving video surveillance was especially chilling. It makes other movies seem overproduced and fake. They should use this technique in a lot more films. No need to involve a cameraman's angle; just have everyone talk and act naturally. Most movie dialog is too slick.

It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role of the shooter, laconically yet frighteningly played by Raymond J. Barry. He's one of those actors you know you've seen before but can't quite place. I'm going to check out his other movies to see if he pulls off that same quality.

Without giving away the ending, I don't think they could have done it any better. IWTA isn't as overtly scary as a more famous pseudo-documentary about a witch, but I put the two films in a similar category. You have to wonder if this was inspired by the BWP concept. It's excellent either way. I'll have to watch it again to catch anything they cut on TV.

Although it seems strange that the film (apparently coincidentally) opens on the day of the 39th anniversary of JFK's assassination, it thankfully stands on its own as an intriguing look at the possibility of the "grassy knoll gunman" theory. While it is by no means a conspiracy or propaganda film, it is, in fact, a "fake documentary" a la Blair Witch, that seems often very real thanks to Raymond J. Barry's amazing performance as a nut (or is he?) who claims to be the second shooter in the President Kennedy's assassination. His commanding presence adds a sense of danger and seriousness that makes the film such an impressive and challenging piece of work.

First time writer/director Neil Burger brings you in to the story and keeps you wrapped up in it in a way that most great feature films do, while still having that gritty documentary feel. Dylan Haggerty plays the cameraman who is "lucky" enough to become involved in such a dangerous story that he cannot decide if his subject is for real or not until he goes over the edge.

It's a fascinating concept, really. Imagine someone with information of that magnitude coming forth with his story only because he has a few months left to live. Would anyone really let that happen? As closely guarded as the true evidence is, you can bet that it wouldn't, which is also examined here in a fantastically twisted web of paranoia, obsession, and fantasy.

For anyone that's ever had a fascination or interest in the JFK assassination, this is a must see. Art house folks will probably eat this one up as well, as it is challenging and thoughtful, and completely free of any Hollywood gloss - what a combination! This one is definitely worth catching in the theater.

Raymond J Barry carrying his paranoia like a badge of honor takes us for a extraordinary ride of the creepiest kind. Feeding into our own fascination with all the conspiracy theories surrounding the JFK assassination. Neil Burger brilliantly concocts a mock documentary that feels truer than most real documentaries and I was taken in, totally. I felt as eager to get to the mysterious John Seymour as the interviewer - a splendid Dylan Haggerthy -. The interview of the assassin's ex wife, played chillingly real by Kate Williamson, is a little gem on its own and the performances, if you can call them that, are uniformly startling, embedded in that, clumsy but undeniable truth that only non professional actors are capable of. Recommended for Unsolved Mysteries junkies as well as for film lovers everywhere

A good mockumentry is a hard thing to pull off. To make something fake not only seem believable through the characters and the acting, but also through the plot while at the same time making it interesting, is a hard thing to do.

Interview With the Assign, although clearly distinguishable as a mockumentry as apposed to a documentary from the very beginning, accomplishes this. The interesting characters woven into the easy to follow plot line, make for an exciting watch.

The audience immediately feels some kind of affinity with Kobeleski, being a normal kind of guy looking for work, and at the same time immediately become intrigued by the Ex-Marine apparent third gun man, Walter Ohlinger.

These two characters and their relationship hold together an otherwise shaky plot line, and we slowly follow Ron and Walter as they re-trace Walters steps more than 30 years after the shooting of JFK.

This, although quite obviously a mockumentry, (It must hard to try and convince people it's real when it's not released in theatres. One can simply read the back of the DVD to see who 'stared' in it), is worth a watch!

It's interesting and If nothing else it will get you thinking about one of the most puzzling crimes of the 20th century.