Painful memories abound while watching the fake documentary Interview with the Assassin, especially for viewers like me who suffered through the trauma of John F. Kennedy’s murder on November 22, 1963. How well I remember taking my junior high students on a museum field trip that fateful day – a day ending in tears for all of us. I also recall the disturbing events following Kennedy’s death – events propelling everyone into a state of confusion and despair. Using a style similar to The Blair Witch Project, this involving film explores the possibility that a "second gunman," not Lee Harvey Oswald, killed JFK. Of course, it’s fiction – but everything about Interview with the Assassin seems almost too real.

For Ron Kobeleski (Dylan Haggerty), an out-of-work TV news cameraman, one of his neighbors holds the key to his future. Ex-marine Walter Ohlinger (Raymond J. Barry) claims he shot Kennedy from the infamous Grassy Knoll in Dallas forty years ago. Now Walter wants to tell all. Why? Because he’s a cancer victim with only a few months to live. Walter asks Ron to film his confession and set the record straight. Skeptical at first, Ron gets pulled into Walter’s world, hoping for a sensational scoop. He cannot foresee the disastrous results of such involvement.

New filmmaker Neil Burger deftly combines "conspiracy theory" suspense with documentary realism in his debut movie. Where did the idea for Interview with the Assassin come from? "One night while eating dinner at a bar, I struck up a conversation with an old guy I was sitting next to," says Burger. The man told Burger he had the story of a lifetime: he knew people who were involved in the assassination of President Kennedy. But he left before relating any details. "Obviously, his story stuck with me – it was one of the seeds of the idea that became Interview with the Assassin," Burger declares.

The other inspiration came to Burger after watching a series of fake documentaries. Disappointed because better real ones existed about the same subjects, he decided to make a fake documentary about something not likely to be seen in a real documentary. "If you could somehow get the person on camera who could tell you the truth about the greatest mystery in American history – that’s a documentary I would want to see," Burger states. And that’s what he creates with his impressive Interview.

Although I’m usually put off by hand-held camera techniques, they are perfect for this film, mostly because of the way their use heightens its intensity and gritty edginess. And the casting of Barry (from television’s Push, Nevada) as the "assassin" enhances the quality of the entire movie. He either talks in the background or appears in practically every scene, so this is good news. Barry’s Walter aroused my curiosity and interest throughout the film. I kept wondering if he was telling the truth – or if he was just a crazy person with hallucinations. Either way,  I couldn’t help feeling sorry for  the lonely old man he had become.

Will we ever know what really happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963? Probably not. It’s not surprising that rumors spread about the high death rate of witnesses (mostly of unnatural causes) during the three-year period following Kennedy’s assassination. Perhaps Interview with the Assassin isn't so far off target, after all.

(Released by Magnolia Pictures; no MPAA rating available.)