Amoeba Music

It goes without saying that during the 8-year term of former President Bush, many activists, parents and the general public alike had little to no trouble expressing their anger and disappointment with the balance and well-being of the United States. Death Of A President, an astounding mockumentary on the successful assassination of President Bush, would then seem to be a sort of outlet in cinema of the events leading to and following the ultimate display of anarchy towards any government. But this is not the message behind this film. If anything, it simply asks that you both pay attention to the policies and laws that govern us as a people, and think twice about taking matters into one’s own hands.

The film opens with a certain anxiety, looking over industrial buildings while listening to an Arab woman’s voice off-screen. The point of her dialogue is to stress consequences. Her husband, Jamal Abu Zikri, is an IT professional of Syrian descent who has become the prime suspect among a line of other Middle-Eastern men in the assassination of the President. She knows he is innocent and cannot fathom how someone could commit such an act without knowing that it might lead not only to the end of the President’s life, but also to the end of government as we know it and the downfall of many other innocent people.

It’s to be expected that a film like this would cause an uproar on all sides of the political spectrum and in the general public alike. Unfortunately, the majority of those who were on the defense about it had not seen it, and therefore did not witness its mastery. To start, the assassination happens in Chicago where the President was supposed to give a speech. In real life, Chicago was a hotbed for activism during former President Bush’s term. Director Gabriel Range cut in actual footage from previous demonstrations in Chicago, and even brought some of the individuals back as extras in order to reenact close-up scenes and a controversial shot of a man actually breaking through the police barrier and successfully touching the presidential escort vehicle. Other real life and controversial footage is that of former President Ronald Regan’s funeral, during which Dick Chaney (who in the film has now become President) delivers a eulogy, which is implanted into the film as the eulogy for Bush. It is the artistry of this juxtaposition that is something to witness. The suspense of going back and forth between perspectives, testimonies, and interviews with those portraying members of government and the families of the accused men is excellent.

All technical aspects aside, the plot holds up just as well. In the film, The Patriot Act III is developed, in light of the assassination, to grant special powers in order to investigate people of Syrian descent and to plan a course of action against Syria. This attack is placed on the same level as previous ones by al-Qaeda and on nuclear development in Asia. So yes, this part of the plot mirrors what actually happened in America with Iraq, and later in other regions the world, but again, its purpose is to expose what is happening in government and form questions and ideals about it. It is not only about the changing of laws in order to point fingers, but more of a warning about the extremes radicalism can produce. The film also humanizes a man that many liberals dislike and shows a different perspective. It shows that there were people to whom he was close and who would mourn his death, in government and across the world. People who stand by his courses of action and still hold their ideals of order and patriotism, if not simply to show respect that he was a leader. Another great aspect of the plot is the ending, in which the actual assassin is exposed. It’s not an ending that you’d expect, but it does a great thing by addressing a different desperation and the perspective of war from the loved ones of the soldiers who die there.

Many of the actors in this film are not necessarily familiar. It is rumored that they were told to simply act out their scenes in fragments without being told what the plot of the movie was or that it surrounded the then current President. Upon research, you’ll find that many have only acted in a few movies with little to no information available. But it is the combined effort, by all members of the cast, that truly pulls off the realism and effectiveness of this film. Without it, it may appear to be exploitative in terms of content, but that fact that we can watch this film and unite, if not gain an understanding of the flow of justice in which we live, is enough to prove it is not. It is a successful portrayal of a future that could have been, and it most certainly deserves to be watched.