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The Kennedys

The Kennedy family was one of the biggest political forces in the history of the 20th Century, and the dramatisation of that history, The Kennedys, has just come to the BBC with production values on a par to a big budget cinematic release. A perfect ensemble cast combined with some genuinely inspirational acting makes The Kennedy's a must watch.

A great weight of sadness rests on the entire production and comes through powerfully in the music chosen to accompany the film. While the assassination of John F. Kennedy is well documented, the story of his life is much more than the afternoon of the 22nd November 1963, so it's good to see it in such an accessible format.

Greg Kinnear plays JFK so well you almost forget that he was ever in Stuck on You, and Katie Holmes does a similar job with the role of Jackie Kennedy. The addition of Tom Wilkinson (The Green Hornet) as family patriarch and apparent mastermind of the Kennedy's rise to power caps off a brilliant cast.

Directed by John Cassar, the script of the mini series has been met with criticism for the sometimes negative story adaptation, lapses in historical accuracy and the localised focus on JFK and Jackie Kennedy. While the show is not necessarily always flattering the reality is that is it a dramatisation and shouldn't really be considered as 100% factual. However, if it introduces more people to the life of John F. Kennedy then it can only be considered positively. His speeches are some of the best in history (the one below is amazing).

The entire eight episodes of The Kennedys are running on BBC 2 and HD during June & July 2011, and will be released on DVD on the 4th July 2011.

Review: 4/5