Death of a President

The concept and promotional posters alone for Death of a President will tempt a lot of people but Range’s film succeeds more on its technical aspects than its storytelling. Without an ounce of humour (c’mon, black comedy has no limits!), this hypothetical mocku-drama should have worked wonders as satire. No matter how convincing this grave-faced portrayal of Bush’s assassination and its aftermath becomes (the ensemble cast still has me believing in their parts), the paint-by-numbers results that unfold are disappointing. It appears the budget was spent splicing the mom from Freaks and Geeks into real life footage of Bush and his entourage and not into giving this film some longed-for imagination.