Bobby Review

Ensemble, multi-stranded dramas seem to be all the rage these days, especially since "Crash" did so well at last year's Oscars. So this new drama from writer / director Emilio Estevez (yes, that Emilio Estevez!) should have been a lock for some award recognition. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the Academy agreed but that shouldn't take away from what is a very solid and enthralling slice of American history.

The movie is set at LA's famous Ambassador Hotel in the 24 hours leading up to the assassination of US Senator Robert Kennedy in June 1968 and we follow anything up to fifteen separate stories, all of which culminate in the hotel's ballroom in the minutes before Kennedy's shooting. These vignettes include the cheating hotel manager (William H. Macy) and his spurned mistress (Heather Graham), a bigoted kitchen chief (Christian Slater) and his relationship with his largely immigrant workforce and the deterioration of the marriage between a fading star (Demi Moore) and her long-suffering husband (Estevez).

For anyone interested in this period of American history, "Bobby" is a must see. Estevez weaves the storylines together superbly, maintaining the balance between the fiction and the fact while creating a genuine sense of empathy with those desperate to see Kennedy replace Nixon in the White House, only to have their hopes cruelly dashed. The performances are strong with special mention going to Freddy Rodriguez as a baseball-obsessed kitchen porter.

It's probably fair to say that Estevez could have dropped a couple of the strands without damaging the finished film and some will accuse him of seeing the subject through rose-tinted spectacles. But that can't distract from a film that is surprisingly powerful and pertinent.