Death Of A President

The Sunday Age

Sunday August 12, 2007

Iain McKay

2.5/5

(M, 90 mins) Hopscotch

It's been called "despicable" by Hilary Clinton and attacked from all sides as an irresponsible and reprehensible provocation. If only it was. Unfortunately the best thing that can be said about this fantasy on George Bush's assassination is that it alerts us to the appalling prospect of a future President Cheney. Spinning its own Haneef-like detour, its faux interviews and hackneyed Hollywood plot fail miserably as drama and in the end it relies entirely on some very slick technique and dubious wishful thinking to tell us what we already know. I never thought I'd ever say it but give me a Michael Douglas conspiracy thriller any day.

Extras: Interview with filmmaker.