The Kennedys are a mythologized family and political
dynasty. The brothers John F. and Robert, because of their tragic and untimely
deaths through assassination, are lionized more than almost any other political
figure of the last century. Because they also had distinctive accents, speech
patterns, and styles, it’s difficult to portray them on film without resorting
to some form of ghastly imitation. Roger Donaldson’s 2000 film Thirteen Days, about the 1962 Cuban
Missile Crisis, gets the casting so right for their roles that at times you
almost forget you’re watching icons. You’re really seeing these characters,
these men, trying to avert nuclear war and the destruction of life as we know
it.
