JFK (1991)

Some questions never stop haunting a nation, and some people can't rest until they've found an answer. Oliver Stone's "JFK," which he co-wrote with Zachary Sklar, drawing partly on Jim Garrison's memoir "On the Trail of the Assassins," is a hypnotic courtroom epic about the investigation into President John F. Kennedy's assassination in Dallas in November 1963. That fateful day set off a chain of events that deepened the mystery surrounding Kennedy's death, leading New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) to launch an investigation that gradually becomes an obsession, straining his family life with his wife (Sissy Spacek). Garrison ultimately brings to trial Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones, in an Oscar-nominated role), a prominent New Orleans businessman he accuses of taking part in a conspiracy, the only prosecution ever brought in the case. Blending bravura filmmaking with a controversial mix of documented fact and bold speculation, the film parades a hypnotic procession of shadowy figures and conspiracy theories, including a secretive former military officer (Donald Sutherland) who delivers a chilling account of a plot reaching the highest levels of power. Critics and historians sharply disputed many of its claims, and a jury acquitted Shaw in less than an hour. Still, it's a technical triumph, with Oscar-winning cinematography and editing, and its daring approach grabs your attention from start to finish. The stellar supporting cast includes Joe Pesci, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Kevin Bacon and Gary Oldman as Lee Harvey Oswald.