You could choke a whale with the sheer amount of material to do with JFK, be it films, documentaries or whatever however, from my point of view, there is a lot less about Robert Kennedy. This was brought home to me by a recent viewing of Emilio Estevez's "Bobby". It made me realise that I knew very little of this man and had for some reason just accepted that in my head he was a footnote in the history of JFK. So I was grateful to have Storyville (who else?) bring this documentary to the UK.
The documentary starts with the Kennedy's as boys growing up and moves through all the key moments in the life of Robert as he sits in a supporting role behind his brother John. It is fascinatingly done and I found myself engaged from start to finish. Of course it probably helped that almost all of it was news to me but still it is hard to deny that it is well put together. Archive footage is used to really good effect, whether it be publicity shots, news footage or recorded phone calls to and from the Oval Office. Almost all the viewers will be aware of the wider events covered in the film but where it engages is in the focus on RFK's role and views within the Cuban Missile Crisis, civil rights movement etc.
Speaking as someone who does (did) tend to default view the Kennedy's as liberal politicians who were peace loving and all for civil rights. Although this may be roundly true it is quite surprising to hear of some of RFK's views as the civil rights movement came to the fore or indeed his response when Cuba first came into play (which was essentially, to level it). The film does gradually lose this approach and, as Kennedy comes to the fore after the murder of his brother, the film does occasionally sink into a little bit of sentimentality while also starting to elevate Kennedy beyond questioning. This is a slight downside to the film that it does come to this but it is mostly strong enough to make this a minor quibble.
The bigger problem for me was Nick Fraser. I cannot remember the film but I have mentioned this before as executive producer of Storyville films he gets all the praise I can give him, however as a narrator he is flat and dull. I can only assume that there was no money left to get someone to narrate the film because in no way can I imagine that he was the first choice from a world (or even a country) of alternatives. Despite this though I can take this as one of few faults because the film is interesting, really well put together and well worth seeing considering how many times we only hear about RFK being a side issue in comparison to JFK.
The documentary starts with the Kennedy's as boys growing up and moves through all the key moments in the life of Robert as he sits in a supporting role behind his brother John. It is fascinatingly done and I found myself engaged from start to finish. Of course it probably helped that almost all of it was news to me but still it is hard to deny that it is well put together. Archive footage is used to really good effect, whether it be publicity shots, news footage or recorded phone calls to and from the Oval Office. Almost all the viewers will be aware of the wider events covered in the film but where it engages is in the focus on RFK's role and views within the Cuban Missile Crisis, civil rights movement etc.
Speaking as someone who does (did) tend to default view the Kennedy's as liberal politicians who were peace loving and all for civil rights. Although this may be roundly true it is quite surprising to hear of some of RFK's views as the civil rights movement came to the fore or indeed his response when Cuba first came into play (which was essentially, to level it). The film does gradually lose this approach and, as Kennedy comes to the fore after the murder of his brother, the film does occasionally sink into a little bit of sentimentality while also starting to elevate Kennedy beyond questioning. This is a slight downside to the film that it does come to this but it is mostly strong enough to make this a minor quibble.
The bigger problem for me was Nick Fraser. I cannot remember the film but I have mentioned this before as executive producer of Storyville films he gets all the praise I can give him, however as a narrator he is flat and dull. I can only assume that there was no money left to get someone to narrate the film because in no way can I imagine that he was the first choice from a world (or even a country) of alternatives. Despite this though I can take this as one of few faults because the film is interesting, really well put together and well worth seeing considering how many times we only hear about RFK being a side issue in comparison to JFK.
