An American Affair

Adam is a 13 year old boy who has just discovered his sexuality. He is not so popular at school and takes a few beatings, but he at least has a prospective girlfriend; that is, until one night while perusing a Playboy magazine in his room he sees the real thing from his window, a beautiful woman semi-naked, right across the street. From that point, Adam is obsessed with this woman, Catherine. Most women would have sent him on his way for his own good, but Catherine is confused and conflicted, and she is a painter, a bohemian artist who is just ending an affair with JFK, and her ex-husband works for the CIA. She is flattered by his interest and boldness, and soon begins to really care about him. The JFK/CIA angle in this film is the weakest part of this movie; it just seems too far fetched. This film would have been just fine without that subplot. The interaction between an older woman who is trying to find herself, and the infatuation of a young boy with her made for some real interest. The ending of this movie is very touching.

(2009) An American Affair DRAMA/ INTRIGUE

Co-produced and directed by William Olsson, that has Cameron Bright starring as a precocious 13 year old boy who often witnesses the doings of his floozy/scandalous female neighbor played by Gretchen Mol as she plays Catherine, and her role during the assassination of JFK etc... This is nothing more than a pure 'what if' film coming from the point-of-view of a 13 year old, which the film indicates that their might've been more than what people know about the assassination of JFK- which is pure horse crap. And some of the movie was just an excuse to get Mol naked!

These days it's rare to come across a finely crafted film that plays every character -- and literally every moment of every scene -- with an uncompromising integrity. Instead of the usual attempt to make a marketable product that pulls the right demographic -- or pushes everyone's buttons -- or simply puts as many of the masses into the seats as possible, writer Alex Metcalf and director William Olsson follow their very resonant characters into the story generated quite naturally by these delicately entangled lives. Yes, there are elements of "coming of age", of "cloak and dagger", of "erotic thriller", etc. -- but it isn't really any of those. Like all really outstanding motion pictures, this film belongs to itself -- is its own category.

Setting fictional characters into a piece of well-known history is in itself a major film-making challenge and not without its pitfalls. But there isn't a single false step here as Olsson juggles fact and fiction with seamless precision, managing to keep all the balls in the air. "An American Affair' is a quiet movie ... taking its time ... allowing you savor every sweet and sour moment. The music is minimal -- yet superbly appropriate and authentic to period. Never showy, the thoughtful camera work serves the characters and content very, very well.

The performances are uniformly excellent -- with Gretchen Mol turning in a truly memorable tour-de-force portrayal of this complex, conflicted young woman. The erotic scenes are never overplayed -- they're tangible -- real. This is genuine eroticism -- not the showbiz kind. She plays the total woman at all times and yet retains that elusive air ... a lingering mystique. Can we -- can anyone -- really know her? We savor each tiny revelation that emerges through her many moods -- playful, seductive, cynical, childlike, creative, materialistic, conscientious, free-spirited, controlling, generous, vulnerable, self-serving. Mol plays every resonant note to absolute perfection and it's the key to making this film so unforgettable.

This is the kind of movie that stays with you long after the lights come up. Hard to believe it's Olsson's first feature length film -- and it's made in the English language for North America's convenience! We have a lot to look forward to from this wonderful new addition to the world's motion picture auteurs.

Written by Alex Metcalf and directed by William Olsson, "An American Affair" at least earns points for originality. For what starts out as a fairly conventional coming-of-age tale set in 1963 Washington D.C. suddenly turns into a piece of historical fiction when the obligatory older woman 13-year-old Adam Stafford (Cameron Bright) falls madly in love with turns out to be none other than the mistress of President John F. Kennedy himself. Thus, not only is Adam introduced to the wonderful world of raging hormones but to the sociopolitical issues of the day as well.

Adam is the son of two journalists who have no clue their child has been peeping into the home across the way, enjoying a full-court view of Catherine Caswell (nicely played by Gretchen Mol), a glamorous divorcée and ex-CIA agent guaranteed to get any healthy young American lad's juices flowing. When Adam introduces himself to her, Catherine hires him on as a gardener, a setup that gives the youngster plenty of opportunity to not only make his move on this prospective conquest but, thanks to her uniquely complicated social life, to have a special behind-the-scenes glimpse into a bit of juicy, albeit undocumented, political history.

"An American Affair" throws so many disparate elements into the mix - May/December romance (or maybe more like February/August), lurid political melodrama, adolescent wish-fulfillment, cloak-and-dagger espionage, conspiracy-theory speculation - that it can't help but generate a certain fascination, even when the story itself is not all that convincing or the passion for the subject not everything it could be (this applies mainly to the first half).

All the "Summer of '42" stuff is, ultimately, far less compelling than the political details of the period, steeped as they are in Kennedy-era glamour and paranoia, with larger-than-life figures acting out a torrid little soap opera in the foreground, while shadowy figures (mainly Cubans and CIA agents) skulk around in the background. The scenes surrounding the assassination are treated with subtlety and restraint, making them all the more heartbreaking and poignant for those in the audience who lived through the experience. In fact, the whole last half hour of the film achieves a haunting sadness that finally penetrates to the very marrow of one's bones.

The movie certainly won't solve the puzzle as to "Who killed JFK?," but it has some fun trying to piece it all together.

before writing this review i read some of the lessor reviews. i'm wondering what they saw. and i wish other reviewers would stick to their thoughts on a movie and NOT just give another plot summary with their opinion tacked on at the end.

in my opinion this movie is a captivating story of a woman (caswell) dealing with the loss of her child and failed marriage. she sees in (adam) a shadowy wish of what her son could be. but reality in her personal life takes control of her very existence. her being a mistress to the president is secondary to her involvement with adam.

adam has stumbled upon his own sexual desires and his school life is a jumbled mess because he is thrown into a situation where he must grow up fast; in contrast to the 'child like peers' he must associate with.

this movie is a wonderful story told in a suspenseful and at times frightening quality. the director and actors did a super job and 10 stars isn't enough to praise it!