The fate of a nation
Movies
In addition to opening on the anniversary of the assassination
of John Kennedy, the new movie about the murder of his brother Robert, Bobby,
coincidentally appears only a few days after the death of Robert Altman. Not
only recalling those two unprecedented national tragedies, but also echoing
some of the peculiar Altman style and content, the film’s connections chime
with a special resonance. Although it seems highly unlikely that we will see a
politician like Bobby Kennedy again, Emilio Estevez’s efforts in the movie
suggest that we may possibly see something like another Robert Altman.
The picture begins with a montage of newsreel footage and
recorded television images of some of the noteworthy events of the turbulent
1960s — civil rights marches, peace protests, farm labor strikes, race riots,
brassiere burnings, the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of President Kennedy
and Martin Luther King, Jr., interspersed with some of Senator Robert Kennedy’s
public utterances and the announcement of his candidacy for president.
Contemporary film of his speeches and moments from his presidential campaign
appear throughout Bobby, which
actually deals with a score of characters who in one way or another participate
in the last moments of the candidate’s life.
The action all takes place on primary election day, within
the precincts of the Ambassador Hotel in Los
Angeles, where Kennedy will make his appearance after
the polls close and the votes are counted. An assortment of hotel employees,
including a doorman, kitchen workers, switchboard operators, a hair stylist, the
restaurant manager, go about their daily routines, while various hotel guests,
including campaign workers, experience their own small adventures. A couple of
goofy young Kennedy volunteers embark on their first acid trip; a boozy café
singer and her husband break up; the philandering restaurant manager and his
wife fight, then reconcile; the elderly doorman and his friend play some
philosophical chess; the kitchen boss loses his job; a wealthy couple play
tennis, talk, find some solace in each other; and so forth.
While all those people and their stories overlap and
intersect in true Altmanesque style, everybody in the
picture anticipates two widely different events — the possibility that Los
Angeles Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale will break a
record for consecutive shutouts, and the hope that Robert Kennedy will win the California Democratic
primary. In a complex irony, the audience knows the outcome for both men, with
the additional awareness of the tragedy that awaits the candidate.
As the doorman (Anthony Hopkins) helpfully informs us, the
life and history of the famous hotel resembles the classic 1930s movie Grand Hotel, which weaves together
numerous plots — tragic, comic, romantic — for its
ensemble of actors. One great difference between the two pictures, of course,
involves the terrible climax that ends the action of Bobby, knitting together the various strands of character and
emotion in the deadly gesture of a capricious fate. Further, the contemporary
movie creates a suspense that evolves out of the audience’s knowledge of a
history the characters cannot suspect; while ordinary life simply goes
innocently forward, we can only witness, powerless to intervene, the
inevitability of approaching catastrophe.
The large cast includes a whole constellation of stars, but
since the plot and the architecture dominate the picture, even the most famous
and accomplished among them occupy supporting roles. Although he only appears
occasionally throughout the film, Robert Kennedy essentially fulfills the part
of hero, both a character in a tragedy and a figure from history. His presence
may inform a new generation of a time when a politician spoke with passion and
conviction, dared to take risks, and for perhaps the last time bridged the
divides of class, race, age, and region in a country torn apart by war and
injustice.
The footage of the candidate riding through the streets of
towns and cities all over the country, with people of all ages and races
reaching out simply to touch him, reminds us of a different time, when a leader
inspired the best hopes of the nation rather than appealing to its selfishness
and greed. America, Bobby shows us,
was a different country then, and sadly, we were a different people; the movie
informs us of just how much we have lost, how much we have given up, what we
have become.
Bobby (R), written and directed by Emilio Estevez, is now
playing at Culver Ridge 16, Pittsford, Henrietta 18, Webster 12, Tinseltown, Greece Ridge 12, and Eastview 13.
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2006.
