JFK (film)/YMMV

• Crowning Music of Awesome: Composed by John Williams, what else would you expect?
• Ensemble Darkhorse: Gary Oldman as Oswald, Donald Sutherland as "X", and Joe Pesci as David Ferrie.
• Magnum Opus: Widely considered to be Oliver Stone's best, and his personal favorite of his own.
• Protagonist Title Fallacy: Many people allegedly went to the movie expecting to see Kevin Costner playing John F. Kennedy.
• Vindicated by History: CIA director Richard Helms later revealed that Clay Shaw was, in, fact, employed by the CIA, and the House Committee on Assassinations concluded that Kennedy's death was the result of a "probable conspiracy".
  • Well, no, Helms stated that Shaw had been a part-time contact of the Domestic Contact Service. That basically means he was sometimes interviewed by the CIA about his frequent travels abroad. He was not "employed" by the CIA. And the House Select Committee on Assassinations' conclusion of a probable conspiracy was based on an audio recording that has since been largely rejected.
  • On another note, later declassified documents and further research (many recorded in books like James Douglass's JFK and the Unspeakable) on the real JFK himself revealed that he was in fact very much like the version portrayed by Oliver Stone. He was neither the liberal dove as told by the myths nor the rogue hawk that many, especially many leftist critics, believed him to be.
• The Woobie: David Ferrie: expelled from the life he wanted for being gay, becoming involved in shady deals almost by accident, and eventually getting in so over his head that he can't tell which way is up anymore. Whether you think his death was murder or suicide, you can't help but feel sorry for him.

"All I ever wanted in my life was to be a Catholic priest. Live in a church, serve God... I had one FUCKING weakness, and they defrocked me."

• • Which is nothing compared to the Woobie he was in real life.