The movie starts with LBJ (Woody Harrelson) and wife Lady Bird (Jennifer Jason Leigh) waiting for the arrival of President Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) at the Dallas airport in 1963 with rival liberal Texas Senator Yarborough (Bill Pullman). In flashbacks, he promises Bobby Kennedy (Michael Stahl-David) not to run for President. He is asked to join the ticket by JFK over Bobby's object. As VP, he cajoles leading southern Democrat Senator Richard Russell (Richard Jenkins). The second half follows the JFK assassination.
There is superb acting from Harrelson in a character study of the President from director Rob Reiner. There are some glaring physical drawbacks. First thing I noticed is that Harrelson is not quite the towering presence that the President was in real life. There is a real need to have that hulking sense on the screen. It's partly his physical presence that contributes to his power. In the same vein, Jeffrey Donovan doesn't have the pretty boy face of JFK especially if the movie keep harping on that fact. It wouldn't matter if those two Presidents aren't so defined by those characteristics. What gives the movie its power comes from LBJ calling, cajoling, and negotiating with the political world. It is more problematic to try to climax with his speech which is not his biggest strength. The climax should be the passing of the civil rights bill. Instead, it is covered in the closing text. Overall, Harrelson does an admirable job despite his physical dissimilarities. Outstanding support comes from Richard Jenkins. It's a solid biopic.
