Today, Remstar Films is releasing Parkland on DVD, after playing at TIFF.  Starting with the tragic events of November 22nd, 1963, the film dramatizes the murder of John F. Kennedy and how the subsequent days unfolded.  We see the nurses (Marcia Gay Harden and Zac Efron) who tried to save the president’s life, the investigator (Ron Livingston) who set out to solve the crime, and the reporter (Paul Giamatti) who witnessed and filmed those fateful moments.

Although the film sometimes veers into melodrama, there are some interesting elements in Parkland that are worthwhile.  Some of the more intriguing scenes come after Lee Harvey Oswald (Jeremy Strong) is convicted, and his brother (James Badge Dale) is left to deal with the aftermath and their mentally ill mother (Jackie Weaver).  The cast that director Peter Landesman has assembled is impressive, especially Paul Giamatti and James Badge Dale, and these performances make this fast paced historical drama worth a look on DVD.

The DVD includes deleted scenes.

Parkland is 92 minutes and rated PG.

-John Corrado