Customer Reviews

An American Affair

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

***1/2

Written by Alex Metcalf and directed by William Olsson, "An American Affair" at least earns points for originality. For what starts out as a fairly conventional coming-of-age tale set in 1963 Washington D.C. suddenly turns into a piece of historical fiction when the obligatory older woman 13-year-old Adam Stafford (Cameron Bright) falls madly in love with turns out to be none other than the mistress of President John F. Kennedy himself. Thus, not only is Adam introduced to the wonderful world of raging hormones but to the sociopolitical issues of the day as well.

Adam is the son of two journalists who have no clue their child has been peeping into the home across the way, enjoying a full-court view of Catherine Caswell (nicely played by Gretchen Mol), a glamorous divorcee and ex-CIA agent guaranteed to get any healthy young American lad's juices flowing. When Adam introduces himself to her, Catherine hires him on as a gardener, a setup that gives the youngster plenty of opportunity to not only make his move on this prospective conquest but, thanks to her uniquely complicated social life, to have a special behind-the-scenes glimpse into a bit of juicy, albeit undocumented, political history.

"An American Affair" throws so many disparate elements into the mix - May/December romance (or maybe more like February/August), lurid political melodrama, adolescent wish-fulfillment, cloak-and-dagger espionage, conspiracy-theory speculation - that it can't help but generate a certain fascination, even when the story itself is not all that convincing or the passion for the subject not everything it could be (this applies mainly to the first half).

All the "Summer of `42" stuff is, ultimately, far less compelling than the political details of the period, steeped as they are in Kennedy-era glamour and paranoia, with larger-than-life figures acting out a torrid little soap opera in the foregroound, while shadowy figures (mainly Cubans and CIA agents) skulk around in the background. The scenes surrounding the assassination are treated with subtlety and restraint, making them all the more heartbreaking and poignant for those in the audience who lived through the experience. In fact, the whole last half hour of the film achieves a haunting sadness that finally penetrates to the very marrow of one`s bones.

The movie certainly won't solve the puzzle as to "Who killed JFK?," but it has some fun trying to piece it all together.

This movie, clearly and transparently based on the last year in the life of Mary Pinchot Meyer, is, unfortunately, not as good as it could have been. All the real characters are here and very thinly disguised: Ms. Meyer, Cord Meyer, James Angleton, JFK, with the addition of a fictional nice teen-age boy who happens to live next door. This character is the problem. Though well-acted, the role is poorly conceived, and the boy's various shadowings and spyings look absurd. Plus there's some tiresome material set at his Catholic day school. Gretchen Mol is wonderful, as is the actor who plays the Angleton character. But this could have been so much better if the filmmakers had taken a tougher position. Left out are Ben and Tony Bradlee and their role in the destruction of Mary Pinchot Meyer's (possibly inflammatory) diary. On the plus side, the LSD scene is nicely done. Bottom line: a fascinating tale receives a mediocre treatment. What a shame!

Aren't the interesting plots about life's circumstances really about conflict and struggle?

This movie is frustrating. It is so obviously based upon the story of Mary Pinchot Meyer and some of the scandalous circumstances of her life and death, yet never takes that final leap into truly telling the tale that is so interesting. In fact, the screenwriter masks the story by too intensely weaving a sub plot of an adolescent neighbor of the main character, actress Gretchen Mol, where the story no longer is about the woman and fixation of this boy, who is having an affair with JFK, but, rather, becomes about the coming of age trials of this same boy. Was it to avoid law suits?

Without boring you with too much plot and spoilers, I will jump to my conclusion: the real story (or what is alleged)is of Mary P. Meyer. It is far more interesting than what this movie delves to. In fact, what this movie delves to is really nothing. The conflict of maturation and puberty of a boy that witnesses a rendezvous between his neighbor and JFK is so thin and lacking, that it pales to the story of the true scandal and its background. You keep wishing that the movie will take a precipitous turn into the interesting and fact based story, but it only skims and, continually, returns to that of boy. His conflict is so much less interesting. His tribulations are so trivial and standard.

As another reviewer commented, this is Summer of 42 - light, set on the back drop of Mary Pinchot Meyer's life. It should have been the inverse. It does not succeed in any artistic endeavor.

An American Affair is about a teenage boy who constantly gets into fights, disobeys his parents and the nuns at church, and falls in love with his next door neighbor- a woman who apparently has ties with John F. Kennedy and other people in Washington DC (where the storyline takes place). Of course we don't actually get to see the John F. Kennedy character, but oh well.

Anyway, the story focuses mainly on the next door neighbor (an attractive middle aged woman) and the relationship she develops with the boy across the street. The parents STRONGLY disapprove of their son making constant visits to the womans home because the woman has a confusing, troubled life. The mother tries explaining what she's like by simply saying "She's different, so stay away from her".

You'll quickly discover the woman has quite a few male friends that she comes into contact with all the time, and they are tied to the White House. You'll have to watch the storyline to find out what their connections are and why they make frequent visits to the womans home.

Anyway, the woman is perfectly aware that the boy has a serious crush on her, but nothing ever comes out of it. By that I mean no relationship ever forms or anything.

Basically An American Affair gives the viewer yet another idea what it was like living in the early to mid 60's and experiencing the Kennedy assassination incident. That's why when the moment Kennedy is killed, you witness the emotional reactions of all the characters in the movie.

Of course a big question as to why the main character himself (the teenage boy) doesn't feel anything over the incident is perhaps a storyline blunder.

This is a pretty good movie with a decent storyline. I have to wonder though, if that one scene showing the teenage boy praying in church after the assassination took place is a plot inconsistency.

He was praying in a completely empty church in Washington DC. You'd think the entire church would be filled with people praying for John F. Kennedy given the sudden and shocking way the incident happened. Maybe not. Maybe people were glued to their television sets and unable to move or think clearly afterwards.

Anyway, it's a quality film. I recommend it.

Half real, half fiction, this movie never lets up, holds your interest from beginning to end. Mol is really beautiful and very effective in the role. Where has she been? (Never saw her before) Other cast members are equally effective. Don't miss it!

This seems to be a Marilyn Monroesque film and it does hint,but it is not. It is story of a teenage boy who is infatuated with his neighbor. It does hint very much that another woman,blonde,was involved with President Kennedy in 1963. I thought it was smartly written and acted. Gretchen Mol did a great job.

This movie shouls have shown a little more with and the president, not the after math because you got a better understaning of it.