The last three hours of The Kennedys mini-series turned out to be the most exciting of the bunch. Unfortunately, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the assassinations of Jack and Bobby were all crowded into too short of a time period. RFK carried the weight of the world on his shoulders in the months and years following the death of his brother, and we saw very little of that, mainly his efforts to protect Jackie. As a whole, however, the whole story played out nicely, despite a couple of bumps in the road.
I’m just a little (too) fascinated with the Cuban Missile Crisis. I don’t think my generation really gets how close to the brink we actually came to self-obliteration. I’m actually reading a book now that postulates an alternate reality where an assassination attempt on JFK’s life, in-between the election and the Electoral College vote was successful. It was scary to think about how differently LBJ could have reacted to the Bay of Pigs, and the Vienna meeting with Nikita Khrushchev. Those two experiences seemed to impact how Kennedy (and the fictional President Johnson) managed their approach with the Russians. I’m not sure John Kennedy was the reason we averted war, but I’m perfectly willing to give him the credit for it.
That being said, though, I don’t think The Kennedys portrayed the crisis well. I never really felt any tension that should have been there. Kinnear as Kennedy tried to carry some of it, but the Secretaries of Defense and State never really made me feel like they were participating in a situation that could usher in the end of the world. It wasn’t for a lack of talent … Later, how Rose & Joe, Bobby’s, Oswald and Jack & Jackie were all woven together was incredibly well done, and was a great example of how to build tension to a moment the audience knows is coming.
LBJ’s hatred for Bobby Kennedy is not exactly a secret. I’m not familiar with the story of the Vice President calling the Attorney General that day, but two things stood out. If Johnson actually asked Bobby if he could take the oath of office, then that was a pretty impressive thing. It isn’t like it wasn’t going to happen, but making sure the timing wasn’t inappropriate sounds like a pretty honorable thing to do. The conversation turned into something different when he asked about the technicalities of the oath. That was just Johnson being incredibly insensitive, whether it was intentional or not.
I think that Katie Holmes has gotten a bad rap on the Internets for her portrayal of Jackie here. I thought she’s done a fine job … Not as good as my all time favorite Jackie Kennedy, though. It should be that hard to figure out who it is.
When they named this mini-series The Kennedys, I expected the story to expand (more) past 1963, on Bobby’s Senate and Presidential campaigns. Not the 30 minutes worth of airtime actually devoted to Bobby’s career post-JFK. I may have not liked Barry Pepper’s portrayal of the third Kennedy son, but his story is the one I think needs telling most. Plus, Kristin Booth was very good as Ethel Kennedy. It is a shame that this story was given the short shrift.
Despite my disappointment with how the story ended, it is hard to be critical of The Kennedys overall. It was a well-produced history of one of America’s most prominent families. I’m not sure what all the controversy was about. No, the Kennedy family wasn’t painted in the best of lights at all times, but neither was it demonized. As the final minutes played out in the Oval Office, we were reminded one final time our families are imperfect, but they are still our families.
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Apr 11, 2011 @ 09:47 EST5EDT
