Bobby (2006)

The story of the assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was shot in the early morning hours of June 5, 1968 in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and twenty-two people in the hotel, whose lives were never the same.

Director:

Emilio Estevez

Writer:

Emilio Estevez

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harry Belafonte	...	Nelson
Joy Bryant	...	Patricia
Nick Cannon	...	Dwayne
Emilio Estevez	...	Tim
Laurence Fishburne	...	Edward
Brian Geraghty	...	Jimmy
Heather Graham	...	Angela
Anthony Hopkins	...	John
Helen Hunt	...	Samantha
Joshua Jackson	...	Wade
David Krumholtz	...	Agent Phil
Ashton Kutcher	...	Fisher
Shia LaBeouf	...	Cooper
Lindsay Lohan	...	Diane
William H. Macy	...	Paul

Storyline

Tuesday, June 4, 1968: the California presidential primary. As day breaks Robert F. Kennedy arrives at the Ambassador Hotel; he'll campaign, then speak to supporters at midnight. To capture the texture of the late 1960s, we see vignettes at the hotel: a couple marries so he can avoid Vietnam, kitchen staff discuss race and baseball, a man cheats on his wife, another is fired for racism, a retired hotel doorman plays chess in the lobby with an old friend, a campaign strategist's wife needs a pair of black shoes, two campaign staff trip on LSD, a lounge singer is on the downhill slide. Through it all, we see and hear RFK calling for a better society and a better nation.

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Plot Keywords:

robert f. kennedy character | u.s. history | robert f. kennedy | ambassador hotel | assassination | 

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Taglines:

He saw wrong and tried to right it. He saw suffering and tried to heal it. He saw war and tried to stop it.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, drug content and a scene of violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

23 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

El día que mataron a Kennedy

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$69,039, 19 November 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$11,242,801

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$20,597,806, 31 December 2007

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Weinstein Company,Bold Films,Bobby

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min 112 min 112 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color Color (archive footage) Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

RFK Must Die: The Assassination of Bobby Kennedy (2007) premiered the following year.

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Goofs

During a conversation between John Casey and Nelson, there is close-up shot of Nelson: you can see that he is wearing an in-canal hearing aid in his left ear. These were not available in 1968.

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Quotes

Miriam: That poor woman... I used to be such a fan

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Connections

References Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

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Soundtracks

Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)
Written by Justin Hayward (as David Justin Hayward)
Performed by The Moody Blues
Courtesy of Universal International Music, B.V.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Tedious hagiographic ensemble piece

What is it about L.A and ensemble films? The Player, Short Cuts, Crash...Emilio Estevez makes a ham-fisted attempt to fashion a memoriam to the ill-fated brother of JFK using the multi-strand plot and character technique associated with Robert Altman. But Estevez clearly lacks Altman's ability to maintain interest and build character through the use of trivialities, revelations and encounters as the film progresses.

The premise is the 'last day in the life of' Bobby Kennedy as he campaigns in the California Primary of 1968. Except, it's the goings on in the Ambassador Hotel, where he will be shot that evening, that feature rather than the character itself. It's a structural device, perhaps even influenced by the obvious and somewhat alienating reverence that Estevez has for Kennedy.

Excerpts of speeches and public reactions to his visit are inter-cut into the movie, that almost portray him as this Ghandi-like presence, on the cusp of commencing a national transformation that will not only end the war in Vietnam but apparently bring an end to 'hatred and violence' and a new sense of community. What is overlaid across the film with the intent of being inspirational, often comes across as simplistic. Estevez simply does not have a sufficiently detached critical sense to connect to more sceptical viewers. L.A liberals and ageing hippies will of course by weeping into their popcorn buckets.

However, there are a couple of nice turns, which you inevitably get in a film with such a cast. Mentionably, Sharon Stone, whose jaded beautician provides a relatable, pathetic character amongst a range of cyphers who are basically inserted to represent the body politic - old and young, black, white and Hispanic, druggie and idealist.

The final portion is compelling and well shot but the rest of the movie, despite it's attempt to portray America poised on a knifedge, as Kennedy would have it, lacks zest.