Kevin Costner has played many roles that have chronicled different aspects of American culture and history. While he explored the Wild West in shows like Yellowstone and the film Easy Rider, he tackled the Government and the powerful structures behind them in the political epic JFK.
The Oliver Stone directorial was the first in the filmmaker’s trilogy of films based on American Presidents. Costner played the role of lawyer Jim Garrison, who brought out a conspiracy on the assassination of former President John F Kennedy. The actor mentioned that the film will always be relevant and that generations will revisit the film.
Kevin Costner On JFK’s Relevance After Generations
With Donald Trump’s recent assassination attempts making the headlines, previous attempts (both failed and successful) have been brought to the forefront again. A direct attack on a prominent personality, especially a former President makes the general public question the security in public places and the loyalties of the people in power who run it.
One film that questioned the version of events given after the death of former President John F Kennedy was the Kevin Costner-starrer JFK. The three-hour epic dealt with the conspiracy theory that the arrested (and subsequently killed) perpetrator Lee Harvey Oswald was a scapegoat, told through Costner’s Jim Garrison.
Costner mentioned that the incident itself changed the perception of how people saw their governments and the people in charge. He said that the film would stand the test of time and be relevant for ages, despite dealing with a case that occurred over six decades ago (via Variety),
The reality is there are going to be people that it has a chance to mark, and a movie like ‘JFK,’ it has a chance for generations to visit it when they come of an age where that interests them, and the questions posed are really important. There was a shift in the country. We used to think — my parents thought, certainly — that people in power told you the truth, and it’s really not always the case. We’ve seen that for the last 60 years.
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The film’s claims were famously questioned and Oliver Stone mentioned that despite having research-backed claims, he was often put on the spot by the media. The Assassination Records Review Board also reportedly claimed the events in the film were fictional.
Oliver Stone Felt JFK Changed His Life As A Filmmaker
While the claims made about the former President’s assassination in JFK were questioned by audiences, critics, media, and politicians alike, Oliver Stone felt that the film impacted his filmmaking career and image as an artist in an adverse way. The filmmaker was nominated for an Oscar for the film.
In an interview with Variety, he mentioned how he did not realize how JFK hit the establishment and how it changed people’s perception of him. He said,
I didn’t realize it would hit the central nerve core of the establishment … And it did take its toll. I think it’s changed the perception of me forever. Many now dismiss me as a filmmaker who is political and only into conspiracy theories. It labeled me and I was staggered. I wish, in a way, it had just died off.
The film still won the Oscar for Best Cinematography and Editing, with many calling it a cinematic achievement regardless of what it spoke about.