Directed by:
Gabriel RangeScreenplay:
Simon FinchCinematography:
Graham SmithComposer:
Richard HarveyCast:
Michael Reilly Burke, George W. Bush, Christian Stolte, Malik Bader, Patricia Buckley, Brian Boland, Kim Jong Il, Nathan Adloff, Becky Ann Baker (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
British director Gabriel Range (THE DAY BRITAIN STOPPED) imagines the aftereffects of the assassination of George W. Bush in this fictional documentary ("mockumentary" seems too playful a word for this relentlessly taut film) set in 2008. Range uses real news footage, staged scenes (shot on high-res video but cleverly doctored to resemble grainy satellite news images and security-camera tapes), and phony talking-head interviews to create a compelling and believable thriller for the CNN generation. He even adds some whodunit elements, along with philosophical musings about post-9/11 civil liberties, the psychological effects of war, and the multilayered impact that such a murder would have on the world. What makes Range's story so believable--in addition to the excellent performances by the "interviewees" playing FBI agents, beat cops, advisors, and suspects--is the wide scope of political and personal viewpoints given equal voice. The president is seen as neither a hero nor a villain; his advisors and security team are loyal and even-keeled but not without their own irrational prejudices, and the assassin's motives, while not condoned, are made to seem understandable. This is a deeply compassionate look at a fictional situation that could very well become a reality--rather than lulling viewers with escapism, Range asks them to consider the consequences of the events unfolding all around them. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Michael Reilly Burke
USA
Best movies:
My All-American (2015)
Space: Above and Beyond (1995) (series)
Ally McBeal (1997) (series)
George W. Bush
USA
Best movies:
Curveball (2020) - a.f.
Die Hard 4 (2007) - a.f.
The Big Short (2015) - a.f.
Christian Stolte
USA
Best movies:
Payback: Straight Up (2006)
Road to Perdition (2002)
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Malik Bader
Best movies:
Death of a President (2006)
Patricia Buckley
Best movies:
Death of a President (2006)
Kabluey (2007)
Brian Boland
Best movies:
The Express (2008)
Death of a President (2006)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Kim Jong Il
Soviet Union
Best movies:
Death of a President (2006)
Nathan Adloff
USA
Best movies:
The Express (2008)
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
The Lake House (2006)
Becky Ann Baker
USA
Best movies:
A Simple Plan (1998)
Men in Black (1997)
Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
James Urbaniak
USA
Best movies:
Oppenheimer (2023)
You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV movie)
The Music Never Stopped (2011)
Neko Parham
USA
Best movies:
The Corner (2000) (series)
42 (2013)
Ant-Man (2015)
Eddie Kunz
Best movies:
Eagle Eye (2008)
Death of a President (2006)
Jay Patterson
USA
Best movies:
Places in the Heart (1984)
Nobody's Fool (1994)
City of Angels (1998)
Amanda Marcheschi
Best movies:
Death of a President (2006)
Gerry Becker
USA
Best movies:
Home Alone (1990)
The Game (1997)
Sleepers (1996)
Mike Markoff
USA
Best movies:
Death of a President (2006)
Hit Man (2023)
Spring Break Nightmare (2023) (TV movie)
Steve Abbott
Best movies:
Marshall (2017)
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)
Death of a President (2006)
Cedric Young
Best movies:
Batman Begins (2005)
Sense8 (2015) (series)
Pompiers en alerte (1991)
Sal Velez Jr.
USA
Best movies:
McFarland, USA (2015)
Savages (2012)
Death of a President (2006)