Bobby

Though ultimately redeemed by a powerful third act, Bobby suffers from a distinctly uneven vibe that ensures it never quite comes off as the searing piece of work that filmmaker Emilio Estevez has clearly intended. The film, which follows over a dozen characters in the hours leading up to Robert Kennedy’s assassination, features a whole host of familiar faces in prominent roles, ensuring that, at least initially, the constant cavalcade of stars can’t help but come off as a distraction. That being said, Estevez has certainly done a nice job of inserting these performers into respectively appropriate roles, with a few of the actors (particularly Anthony Hopkins and William H. Macy) bringing some much-needed depth to the proceedings. As one might’ve expected, the effectiveness of the film’s individual storylines varies – with most of these characters forced into unreasonably overwrought and melodramatic situations (the exploits of a May-December married couple, played by Martin Sheen and Helen Hunt, is a particularly apt example of this). Still, there’s no denying the power of the film’s final 15 minutes – to the extent that one can’t help but wish that Estevez had imbued the rest of Bobby with a similarly engrossing vibe.

** out of ****