Kennedy Review: Once and Future King

The aura surrounding John F. Kennedy’s tragically shortened presidency still captivates the American psyche even 60 years after an assassin’s bullet cut his life short. Now, as the anniversary of that dark November day in Dallas approaches, director Ashton Gleckman chronicles JFK’s storied life and complex legacy in the new 8-part docuseries Kennedy, premiering November 18th on the History Channel.

Opening with evocative footage of Kennedy on the 1960 campaign trail, Kennedy aims to reexamine the man behind the myth and determine how his legacy holds up to present-day scrutiny. While respectful, Gleckman doesn’t shy away from flaws, including JFK’s chronic womanizing, family dysfunctions, and controversial policy decisions. Interweaving archival media with commentary from historians, journalists, and even celebrity super-fan Conan O’Brien, the series construct a multidimensional portrait of Kennedy as a leader.

For history buffs and Kennedy admirers alike, Kennedy offers an absorbing walk through a pivotal time in America’s story. Despite occasional gaps in analysis, Gleckman largely succeeds in providing enlightening context around seminal events like the Cuban Missile Crisis, reminding us of just how close the world came to nuclear armageddon. Even six decades later, JFK still sparks our collective imagination – with Kennedy, Gleckman compellingly breaks down both the soaring idealism and gritty humanity of the man who, for one brief shining moment, summoned our nation’s higher aspirations.

Kennedy’s Life Under the Microscope

Spanning 8 hours, Kennedy methodically traces JFK’s rise from sickly youth to daring war hero to the White House, before concluding with his shocking public murder that traumatized the nation. While other presidential profiles have focused narrowly on administrations, director Ashton Gleckman ambitiously attempts to evaluate all 46 years of Kennedy’s life. Through archival media and expert commentary, the series explores how Kennedy’s personality and values were shaped by influences like his demanding father, his perilous military service, and persistent health issues.

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Gleckman examines both the strengths and flaws of JFK’s character, from his courageous naval commands to his reckless womanizing, presenting a balanced three-dimensional portrait. Kennedy’s legislative accomplishments and foreign policy record also come under scrutiny, weighing triumphs like avoiding nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis against missteps like the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. The series ultimately seeks to substantiate if the Kennedy mystique stands up to modern judgement. While respectful of JFK’s legacy, Gleckman refuses to gloss over the uglier or questionable aspects, applying an unsparing but even-handed lens.

Through extensive archival digging and candid interviews, Kennedy pieces together a comprehensive profile of both the president and the man. Gleckman not only wants viewers to understand critical moments in history, but to better comprehend the intangible qualities that turned JFK into a revered – yet controversial – icon. Shedding nuanced light on Kennedy’s character and actions, the series provides deeper context into one of America’s most immortalized leaders.

Visual Vectors to the Past

Rather than dramatizations, Kennedy allows the archival images and footage from the era to transport viewers back in time. We see Kennedy the grinning sailor, Kennedy the serious senator, Kennedy the doting young father – each visual helping humanize the man behind the mythos. Beyond JFK himself, the series uses stock footage, photos, and audio clips to vividly recreate seminal events like perilous PT boat raids, frenzied campaign stops, and nail-biting ExComm meetings during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

These primary sources are supplemented by over 40 interviews with everyone from famed historians to members of Kennedy’s inner circle. Kennedy family members offer intimate perspectives into his personality, while authors like Chris Matthews break down his political acumen. The commentary analyzing JFK’s decisions and legacy comes from across the ideological spectrum for balance. Providing a unique viewpoint is lifelong Kennedy devotee Conan O’Brien, who serves up equal doses of insight about and humor regarding his idol.

While re-enactments could have theoretically brought textbook events to life, the authenticity of the real images and reactions allows viewers to feel fully transported to the Kennedy era. Gleckman indeed missed opportunities for creative recreations around more private aspects like JFK’s affairs or strained family dynamics. But when it comes to the public life that so singularly shaped American history, Kennedy’s wealth of primary visuals makes that tumultuous period feel palpably real once more.

Insiders and Analysts

Gleckman assembled an eclectic mix of interview subjects ranging from Kennedy intimates to pop culture personalities. Mining eyewitness views into JFK’s life are relatives like nephew Timothy Shriver and White House insiders like Dave Powers, an original member of Kennedy’s “Irish Mafia.” Journalist Chris Matthews offers anecdotal political memories, comedically juxtaposed with Conan O’Brien’s humorous super fan recollections.

Providing expert analysis on Kennedy’s upbringing is David Nasaw, whose book on the patriarch Joseph Kennedy Sr. delivers armchair psychology into the dynamics between Jack and his father. Presidential historians Douglas Brinkley and Robert Dallek dissect JFK’s policy decisions, campaign, and communication strengths through a scholarly lens. Author Thurston Clarke gives literary color to Kennedy’s college days and wartime exploits.

The series includes multiple fresh perspectives from female voices as well, including former JFK secretary Barbara Gamarekian, shedding light on Kennedy’s views on women’s rights. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline offers rare on-camera insights about her father’s personal nature. Providing an outside perspective is musician Paule Marshall, analyzing Kennedy’s complicated civil rights legacy.

By covering diverse angles through intimate observers, historians, politicians, celebrities and family members alike, the mosaic of commentary in Kennedy shapes a multilayered profile of JFK. Gleckman smartly avoids framing the account just through stale academic voices, instead bringing vivid color commentary to the narrative from those who knew Kennedy’s powerful charisma firsthand. The blend of expertise makes palpable just how a privileged politician still managed to capture national admiration from all echelons of society.

Reverence with Realism

Considering Kennedy’s enduring mythical status, Gleckman faces inherent challenges in framing the series with objectivity. Yet the director strives to analyze his subject with open-minded balance rather than merely cementing old hero narratives. The tone remains respectful to JFK’s complexity without veering into hagiography; criticisms come swathed more in nuance than condemnation. Still, the weight of admiration certainly tips the scales, if not quite to full-blown romanticization.

Gleckman allows the sweeping optimism of Kennedy’s speeches and the charm of his press conferences to surface unfiltered. Anecdotes of camaraderie with his band of brothers in WWII and playing football with his kids on the White House lawn aim straight for the heart. The soaring highs of his public life are given appropriate grandeur. Yet more somber moments also penetrate; the strain as Kennedy bears his chronic back pain, or his melancholy reflection after the Bay of Pigs fiasco show the smiling icon in more despairing shades.

These glimpses behind the curtain avoid reducing Kennedy to a superficial hero figure. By toggling between the public glory and private doubts, Gleckman humanizes the legend while still basking in his aspirational glow. Flaws surface but do not condemn him; misjudgments become foibles rather than failings. Some critics may crave a more unvarnished account, but there is underlying affection even when revealing Kennedy’s complex duality. In the final tally, earnest admiration outweighs circumspect critique; Kennedy remains a romantic ode more than a subversive takedown.

Examining the Inner and Outer Man

At 8 hours, one might expect Kennedy to offer an exhaustive inspection, yet the truth proves more complicated. Gleckman indeed digs deeper on critical public-facing aspects, whether Kennedy’s heroic military service or his policy decisions during flashpoint events like the Cuban Missile Crisis. The series shines brightest in placing Kennedy amidst the swirling tides of history, detailing the qualities that allowed him to steer ably through the storm. We gain sharp insights into his intellectual prowess, nerve under pressure, and crisis leadership capabilities.

However, the lens captures fewer intimate close-ups. His religious life and connections to his heritage receive only cursory mentions, while tender family moments appear too fleeting. The layers behind his storied infidelity remain thinly explored, squandering a fuller chance to unpack Kennedy’s views on marital fidelity and gender dynamics. Even gripping health issues that publicly compromised his presidency merit mere minutes. The fuller portrait of Kennedy’s character and principles thus emerges disjointed.

Ultimately Gleckman excels at highlighting the visionary statesman and intrepid playboy politician, the dynamic yet flawed figure forever etched into America’s imagination. But under the surface lies a more enigmatic soul remains partially obscured. Kennedy delivers an ample sweep of history but just trace elements of the inner man – enough to exalt and explain, yet insufficient to wholly humanize. For all its exhaustive aspects, Kennedy never fully pierces through the mythology to expose JFK’s vulnerable core.

Illuminating Moments

While Kennedy utilizes an overwhelming wealth of archival media to reconstruct the era, several sequences stand out for their visceral impact. Gleckman maximizes the emotional force of the raw amateur footage capturing JFK’s 1963 assassination, thrusting us within the frenzied Dallas crowd descending into panic. The implicitly violent imagery distills the horrifying public loss which so traumatized the American psyche. We similarly relive the anxious 13 days of the Cuban Missile Crisis through declassified ExComm audio, underscoring the palpable apocalyptic fears hanging over each debate as Khrushchev and Kennedy edge towards the nuclear brink.

Quieter yet equally poignant moments surface as well. The opening sequence of Kennedy watching his son John Jr. romp in the Oval Office humanizes the President as a wistful father, foreshadowing the tragic coda awaiting the young boy. We also glimpse private flashes of Kennedy admitting fault to the camera after the Bay of Pigs, with stirring notes of his secret taping system capturing his self-accountability. And footage from after his death of a devastated Jackie Kennedy wandering the White House grounds Solo, wordlessly conveys the permanence of her loss.

By bookending his meteoric rise and fall through such highly impactful scenes, Gleckman accentuates Kennedy as a political immortal – though one fashioned equally through stirring triumphs and heart-rending tragedy. Their emotional resonance encapsulates the Kennedy legacy, alternatively evoking a rosy nostalgia and an aching sense of what might have been. We exit these standout moments with indelible memories, feeling we have briefly touched greatness.

Probing Deeper

For all its exhaustive scope, several curious gaps in analysis remain where Gleckman could have illuminated murkier facets of Kennedy’s life. The series explores his long-suspected connections to mobsters like Sam Giancana only peripherally, failing to probe the potentially compromising political favors tied to their support. Kennedy’s Addison’s disease receives barely a mention, despite the chronic adrenal insufficiency that severely impacted his presidency.

Beyond health issues, relatively scant screen time covers the behind-closed-doors tensions and infidelities that strained his marriage to Jackie. The serial unfaithfulness presented less an unflinching exposé and more a boilerplate analysis excusing the chauvinism as standard for politicians of the era. Relatedly, women in Kennedy’s orbit are acknowledged but we learn strikingly little of their first-hand perspectives or his attitudes towards gender equality in power structures.

Several of Kennedy’s more controversial policy positions also fly below the radar, notably his early support for Senator McCarthy’s paranoid communist witch hunts in the 1950s. His reluctance to openly champion civil rights receives muted criticism. Expert commentary merely debates whether JFK helped enable progress through backchannel machinations or demonstrated lack of conviction by avoiding open confrontation with institutional racism.

Ultimately the docuseries delivers a lionized general overview light on self-critique, leaving one wishing Gleckman chose depth over breadth on pressing yet difficult issues. Lingering over Kennedy’s moral gray zones could have enriched the portrait with provocative new insights. Instead, he lingers largely in the golden glow of Camelot rather than its unflattering shadows.

The Flickering Torch

Kennedy concludes by returning to the soaring idealism of JFK’s inaugural address, with his poetic call for national unity and global fellowship resonating across the decades. As we reflect upon the man and the myth, Gleckman pointedly asks if such a transcendent leader could arise again in our increasingly fractured political climate.

While Kennedy’s riches-to-political royalty story feels quintessentially last century, the series makes clear his vision equally speaks to present day America at its most divided. Kennedy still stands for the notions that public service is a noble calling, that compassion and courage are patriotic virtues beyond partisanship. His legacy encompasses the challenges ahead just as it recalls the struggles behind – a flickering torch passed to new generations.

For all its gaps and omissions, Kennedy largely accomplishes Gleckman’s mission to fully reevaluate JFK’s life in modern context. It delivers substantive history without sacrificing tortuous humanity, ambition without ignoring foible. Kennedy emerges less deity, more man striving in his time – yet no less monumental for it. However probed and imperfect, he remains essential to understanding America’s soul. Six decades on, after reliving Kennedy’s incredible journey, the lingering desire to recapture fading bits Camelot should leave viewers recommended.

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