Original subtitles

- I pray and hope for my family, relatives, and friends,

and for all those dead known to you alone,

in company with Christ, who died and now lives,

may they rejoice in your Kingdom,

where all our tears are wiped away,

unite us again together in one family,

to sing your praise, forever and ever,

Amen.

Benjamin was a good boy, Peter.

- Of course he was, Father.

He never had the chance not to be.

- Sam said the...

The kid who did it came forward.

- Yeah, he did.

Um, there's still going to be

an investigation, though, so...

- Sam's the best there is.

Okay?

You're in good hands.

- Thanks.

- He lied.

He was told what to say and he lied.

He was drinking and horsing around,

and not paying any damn attention.

- Who else wasn't paying attention, Peter?

I got him the jacket and the hat for his birthday.

Why wasn't he wearing it?

- Because he didn't like the jacket.

I told you, it was too big.

- He was supposed to grow into it.

- The judge wants us back in.

- When any defendant faces criminal charges,

it puts a great burden on the person in my position

to render justice.

While it can be construed that there was negligence

on the part of Mr. Thompson,

and that alcohol could have been a factor,

I have no way to determine

the state of Mr. Thompson's sobriety

at the time of the event.

It appears, however,

that the young victim's father, Mr. Brennan,

failed to ensure that his son

was wearing the mandatory safety attire,

thus putting that child at great risk.

I've listened to the testimony,

I've reviewed the evidence,

and while I find no one legally culpable,

I find everyone responsible.

There is insufficient cause

to proceed with the criminal trial.

- It's bullshit.

That judge was paid off.

The kid's father is a big shot on the city council.

You don't think they hang out together,

look out for one another?

It's a big fucking club.

- Stop it.

I've had enough. I'm tired.

- I want our son back.

- And I don't?

Ben is gone,

and the sooner we accept that, the better.

- But I want justice!

God.

Oh, damn it.

- It's a well-respected charity.

They said everything goes to needy families.

- What's the damn rush, anyway?

What's it hurting?

- It's hurting me, Peter, okay?

I admit it, I can't take it anymore.

I need his things gone.

- Well, then, why don't you give your sister a call?

I'm sure she's got nothing better to do.

- This month marks the 20th anniversary

of the Kennedy assassination.

But, for many residents, November is a solemn reminder

of the disaster...

- Mac.

Don't you ever leave?

- Peter!

Hey, we all have our calling.

God, I haven't seen you since Margie's wedding.

- Yeah.

- How you holding up?

You know, with the-- - Okay.

- I got this one. Beer?

- And a seven back, if you're buying.

- You know, Peter,

if you don't mind my saying,

if it was me,

that son of a bitch who did it wouldn't be walking.

And if your father were alive, it'd be the same thing.

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

You know what I'm saying?

- Dealey Plaza has become

a magnet for conspiracy buffs.

- Hey, Mac?

- And a shrine for Kennedy supporters

the world over.

Two days later, accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald

was cut down in the basement of a Dallas police station

by local nightclub owner Jack Ruby

as a nationwide television audience watched

in stunned disbelief.

- Yeah, I know what you're saying.

- Questions still persist

as to Ruby's true motives, whether he knew Oswald,

and if the two had been part of a larger conspiracy.

- Why not keep something?

You know, there may come a time--

- A time when what?

Ben walks through the door

asking for something to play with?

- It's just so final.

- Like most everything, I guess.

So, this is going to needy families, right?

- Couldn't tell ya.

- Oh, damn it.

Annie?

- I'll get it.

There's ice cream, if you like.

- Mrs. Brennan?

- Yes?

- Is that your vehicle?

- It's my husband's.

Why?

- Is he home?

- Oh, another fundraiser, Officer?

Don't you guys ever give it a rest?

- Step out onto the porch, please.

- Wait, what's going on?

- Sorry about the wisecrack.

- I said, step out onto the porch!

Sir, were you driving this vehicle

in the vicinity of McPherson and 5th this afternoon?

- Yeah, I guess I was.

- Peter, what...

- Sir, turn around, please.

You're under arrest for a suspected hit-and-run.

Oh, God.

- Annie, call Sam.

- Peter, what did you do?

- Everything is going to be okay.

Just call Sam.

Just call Sam!

- Listen, Peter, we all feel terrible for you and Annie.

- I've given the company eight years.

- And we appreciate it, Peter.

This is for your own good.

We'll make sure you get a nice severance.

And once you get this thing in its right place,

you can always try us back.

- Good boy!

Hey, Ben, look at Mommy.

There's my big boy.

You're doing so well,

Mommy's so proud of you!

Hey, Ben, look out for Mommy!

Hey!

- You're home early.

Did you pick up the dry cleaning?

- I forgot.

- Listen, I got a call from Sam today.

He said he tried you at work, but there was no answer.

He said the Thompsons wanted to file

a restraining order against you,

but that he talked them out of it.

- Should be against that fucking kid of theirs.

- He talked them out of it with a personal guarantee

that you would get some help.

There's a group that meets at church.

- If you want to go, go.

Sam had no business promising them anything!

It was our kid that was killed.

Not theirs,

not his,

ours!

God damn it!

- Yeah, buddy, yeah!

All right, you got it.

Way to go, big man.

Yeah.

- Two packs of reds.

- Can I get a bag of peanuts?

- Zapruder was one lucky son of a bitch.

He says to his secretary, "Hey, Marilyn,

"hold me steady while I get a shot of the President."

Three hours later, he's got 50 grand in his pocket.

And Life Magazine deep-sixes the film.

- Sorry about the wait.

What can I get you?

- Beer and a seven back.

What is all this?

- Kennedy gets whacked by some nut job,

and these guys sit around and talk about it.

- It was 20 years ago.

- Maybe it gets them out of the house.

- I don't know how many of you have seen it,

but this month's Diary Magazine

makes one thing perfectly clear.

And that is that for two decades,

for more than 20 years,

documents pertaining to the assassination...

- Don't forget your donut.

- I'm good.

- John Fitzgerald Kennedy,

have been kept from us by agents of our own government.

And not only have they kept us from the truth,

but they have also altered that truth

so as to make black appear white and white appear black.

Fortunately, one thing that they no longer can hide

is the film that I'm about to show you this evening,

in which the laws of science speak truth to power,

and the notion of a lone gunman

firing from above and behind

melt like a child's snowman in spring sunshine.

And, perhaps, it brings us one step closer to justice.

- Where's your section on the Kennedy assassination?

- The what?

- There's not as much demand as there used to be.

Here we go, and it goes all the way down there.

When you figure out who did it, let me know.

- What are those?

- Some books from the library.

- "The Plot to Kill the President."

Nice.

- What's this?

"Good Grief.

"The Seven-Step Path to Healing and Renewal After Loss."

- There are seven stages of grieving.

Can you name them?

- Only the first three.

Drinking,

drinking,

more drinking.

- Yeah, I noticed.

Did you hear that?

- Hear what?

- Sometimes I think I hear him.

- Annie,

don't.

- No, it's real, I...

I can hear his voice.

- Yeah, well, maybe he wants his stuff back.

- Bastard.

- Annie, I was just trying to--

- How dare you!

- Annie! - Stop it!

- I was just making a joke.

- A joke?

In case you haven't noticed, Peter, we're the joke.

- "Six Seconds in Dallas."

It's one of the first.

- Is that good?

It's always good to start at the beginning.

- I saw you speak the other night.

At the meeting.

- I'm Alan Atwood.

- Peter Brennan.

It says here that three shots were fired in 5 1/2 seconds,

but it took nearly half that time

to load and fire Oswald's rifle once.

Is that true?

- Yes.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Listen, Peter, a few of us get together in private

outside of the public meetings.

And tonight we're meeting at my house.

I think you'll find it interesting.

- Thanks.

- That just scared me half to death.

Can I get a cleanup on aisle three, please?

Hey, can you, can you cover for me for a minute?

- Sure, hon.

Take as long as you need.

- Peter Brennan, please.

There must be some kind of a mistake, he...

Hello?

What are you reading?

"On the Path of the Assassins."

Are we closing in on the real killers, Peter?

Just make sure you let me know, okay, because I,

I certainly wouldn't want to get in the way of that.

- Hey, tell me.

What happened?

- The Thompson kid came in today.

- Did he see you?

- Of course he saw me.

I had to ring him up and bag his crap,

him and that girlfriend of his.

You know, Peter, there's another group at church tonight

and I really think we should go.

- No. Don't.

- No, I really think you should come with me.

- I can't, I have to finish-- - If you don't come with me--

- What? What if I don't?

- You know, I called you at work today and,

and they told me you'd been let go.

When were you planning on telling me that?

- I was going to tell you, and it,

it just, it slipped my mind.

- It slipped your mind.

Really?

Losing your job, you know, I can't go on like this.

- Listen, Annie--

- No, no, don't touch me!

- Why should tonight be any different?

- I think we need some time.

I've given it a lot of thought,

and Sarah has offered to let me stay at the lake,

to help get myself clear on this.

- Clear on this?

Clear on me is more like it.

- No, Peter, that's not what I'm talking about.

- Well, sure, it is.

Sarah has blamed me for Ben's death since day one,

and so have you.

Admit it.

- Peter, stop it! - Stop it?

You're the one that wanted every last memory of Ben

out of this house, and now it's gone,

you're fucking leaving, great!

What more do you want?

- I want us, Peter!

- We're not the same anymore, why can't you see that?

- God damn it, Annie, listen--

- This environment is toxic.

I have never seen you drink this way.

I am so sick of hearing about guns and death.

- Toxic.

Where'd you get that? From Sarah?

- No, from group. - From group.

Did you tell your group how

you haven't been a wife to your husband?

Hmm? Did you tell them that?

Huh?

- Peter, don't touch--

- You're right.

We're not the same anymore.

Tell Sarah to go fuck herself.

- Can I help you?

- Uh, Alan asked me to swing by.

- Peter.

Good.

Glad you could make it. Ah.

Would you like a drink?

- Sure. - Jerry.

Make Peter a drink.

- Manhattan?

- Sure.

- Great drink.

Here you go.

My uncle turned me on to those when I was ten.

- Thanks.

- I came to the conclusion

that these two murders were connected.

Subsequently, I read everything I could find on the subject.

One year became 20, and I came to the realization

that the assassination was not the only thing,

it was the only thing I cared...

- So you're the guy Alan brought in from the cold.

- Sorry.

What?

- Well, he said a new guy was coming.

- Okay. Right.

I guess he did.

- Donny Brack.

Cars is my trade.

This is my real calling.

- Peter Brennan.

- Alan's right.

She's an intoxicating mistress, the quest for truth.

The perfect alternate reality.

You round the corner of Elm and Houston

and move slowly down the grade toward the triple overpass.

A hundred different vantage points, a thousand sets of eyes,

yet only one truth.

Oswald was either in the window,

or he wasn't.

Ruby either knew Oswald,

or he didn't.

And just when you think you know everything about her,

bang,

the door slams shut,

your theory shatters into a thousand pieces.

So,

you pour yourself a drink,

swallow your pride,

and begin again,

hoping that maybe you'll see something you missed,

the one piece of evidence

that's undeniable, incontrovertible,

an arrow of truth

shot straight into the heart

of the lie.

- Gentlemen,

to the arrow of truth.

36 hours of steady rainfall

have left many homes in the metro area

knee-deep in flood waters.

Power was out for three hours in East Washington

because of downed power lines,

and police report at least 200 accidents.

No injuries were reported.

Cleanup is expected to take at least two days.

Damage to homes and property

is pending through.

- Can I help you?

- Um, coffee, please.

Cream and sugar?

- Over there.

- Stay away from him, asshole!

Stay away, or you're going to jail!

- Five years ago,

the House Select Committee on Assassinations

made news when it called to testify

one Louis Steven Witt,

the so-called Umbrella Man.

Witt claimed that he was the man who had a black umbrella

just steps away from the motorcade

at the exact moment President Kennedy was shot.

Conspiracy supporters claim that the Umbrella Man

played a critical role in the assassination,

although the nature of that role is hotly debated.

Simon Baumgartner, author of several books,

and an outspoken debunker of conspiracy theories,

had this to say.

- These guys are on

a fishing expedition, that's all.

They should buy some rods and reels and a few worms

and go stand in a river somewhere.

They'd have better luck.

For some, however,

the assassination of President Kennedy remains,

even 20 years later,

the greatest murder mystery of all time.

The Warren Commission

admitted testimony...

Just-released photos reveal

that two sniper bullet casings

were found near the so-called sniper's lair.

Eyewitnesses, including Kennedy's personal aide,

say they saw smoke coming from the grassy knoll.

The question is,

what is the government hiding,

and who are they hiding it for?

Official police photos reveal

that two bullet casings and one live round

was found near the so-called sniper's lair.

If true, then only two shots were fired.

- I'd like

some legal representation.

These police officers have not allowed me to have any.

Photos from the scene

show that the agents

in the Vice President's car reacted to four shots.

They also show that the President's car...

They never made a move.

- The man with the black umbrella.

- The man with the black umbrella

stood just 20 feet...

- You know what?

I was just like most people at the time.

I guess I never gave it much thought.

- That's what they counted on, Sam.

The Warren Commission was a huge public relations stunt

to sell Oswald as the lone assassin.

No second shooter,

no conspiracy.

No conspiracy,

no coup d'etat.

No coup d'etat,

it's business as usual.

- Maybe.

But a lot of people think it happened

just the way they said it did.

- Sam, where's your umbrella?

- It's a beautiful day.

I didn't bring an umbrella.

- Exactly.

- Damn it, Peter.

As your attorney, I'm obligated to tell you,

sitting in front of the Thompson house was bad enough.

You're lucky they let that pass.

But the other night?

Actually following the kid into a restaurant?

One more incident like that,

and there's nothing I can do for you,

no matter how justified you may feel you are.

- I can't even eat in the same restaurant with him now?

- That's not what I meant, and you know it.

Look, are we going to see you tomorrow?

- No, I don't think I'm going to make it.

- I really think Annie would love it if you made it.

It might do you some good.

It's Thanksgiving, for God's sakes.

Besides, what else you got to do?

- Not a damn thing, Sam.

Not a goddamn thing.

- Pete, come on.

Pete, that's not what I meant.

Peter. Pete!

Aw, fuck.

Oh!

- Sam, please, let me handle this.

Why don't you go chop some firewood or something?

- Love you, too, honey.

- I'll set the table?

- Holiday dishes are in that cabinet up there.

- Mmm.

- Oh, that must be Peter.

I told him to come a little early.

- Peter?

- Sam, I told you Will was coming.

- Will?

- It was supposed to be a surprise.

- What the hell.

It's Thanksgiving.

The more, the merrier.

- Sarah? - Hmm?

- What's this all about?

- Like I said, it was supposed to be a surprise.

- Well, it certainly is that.

- It's great to see you, man.

Glad you decided to come over.

So, Peter, just make yourself at home.

And I'll grab you a beer.

- Thanks, Sam. - Sure.

- Hi, Sarah.

- Hi, Peter.

- Happy Thanksgiving, Annie.

- Listen, Peter,

let's just try and have a nice day today, okay?

- What's that supposed to mean?

- Hello!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Peter.

- Will.

- Will, hey, it's great to see ya.

Sarah told me you were coming

and I'm glad you could make it.

- Me, too.

- Like I said, let's just try and have a nice day.

- As it turned out, Sam wanted peach and I wanted yellow,

so we settled on seafoam and bought a new sofa.

End of story.

- Thank God for that.

- So, anyway, there was an eyewitness named Virgil Hoffman

who saw two men with a rifle

running away from the grassy knoll

along the railroad tracks.

- Peter.

I thought we're off the subject.

- Look, Peter, if that's the case,

why didn't he tell anybody?

- He was a deaf mute.

No one bothered with him.

And the Warren Commission ignored him.

Finally, after 14 years of frustration,

he came forward again.

- Yeah, to collect a check, probably.

- Burke, I would love to hear more about your practice.

Peter, did you know Burke was a veterinarian?

- No, Annie, I didn't know that.

I just met him. How would I?

- Go on, Burke, tell us.

I, for one, would love to hear about your practice.

- It's nothing, really.

- Oh, sure it is.

We got fed up with the city and Burke realized that--

- Sarah, would you pass me the salt and pepper, please.

- Burke realized that a reliable animal hospital was--

- Really needed up here,

absolutely.

- This is where Zapruder was standing.

This is where the freeway sign is.

The motorcade looped around here.

A man with an umbrella stands just in front of the sign,

just out of sight of Zapruder's camera lens.

He holds it out, and up,

not 20 steps from where Kennedy's head passes

on a sunny day without a goddamn cloud in the sky!

On the film, when Kennedy appears from behind the sign,

he's been hit.

You can see it.

You can see the expression on his face that he has been hit!

- Well, maybe he was just hung over.

You know, I hear those Secret Service agents

could really put it away.

- Can we change the subject?

It's been 20 years.

Nobody cares about that anymore.

Besides, it's so gruesome.

- Do you know what this man,

this so-called Umbrella Man,

said when he testified before Congress?

That he was protesting Joseph Kennedy's support

of Neville fucking Chamberlain!

I mean, who is going to buy that crap!

- Hey, Pete, um, Washington's playing Dallas.

Why don't we go into the living room and watch the game?

- Hey, did you notice that?

Today, Thanksgiving Day,

and it's November 22nd,

and Washington

is at Dallas.

- Fuck you, Will.

- Oh, God, Peter.

- Hmm.

I guess

you can take the boy out of the trailer park but...

How does the rest of that one go?

- Come on, Pete.

Why don't we go watch some football?

- Goddamn football.

Is that all you people care about?

- Pete, I don't know what to say.

- It's getting late.

I'd better get heading back.

- Are you sure?

Come on.

We still have dessert.

- Say good-bye for me,

will you?

- Yeah.

- Frames 204 to 205,

1/18th of a second.

Kennedy's head snaps nearly 40 degrees.

That can only be a reaction to a gunshot.

- My God.

Hmm.

Play it again.

204,

205.

204,

205.

204,

205.

The point is it comes only a second and a half

before the moment everyone agrees is when Connelly is hit.

You know what that means.

- Oswald couldn't have fired both shots.

Not enough time.

- And the shot came from the front.

If we're to believe the doctors in Dallas.

- An entrance wound to the throat

was how Dr. Perry described it.

- Firing from the grassy knoll

simply presents too many obstacles.

- Which brings us to the only conclusion possible.

- It's the man the open umbrella.

The Umbrella Man.

- Protecting himself from blue sky and fall sunshine

on a late November day in Dallas.

- Peter, this is good work.

This is...

This is going to put you on the map.

- Hunter?

- Sorry?

- Do you hunt?

- Not anymore.

- Personal protection, then.

- Oh, uh...

Yeah.

- How's this?

9mm semi-automatic.

State of the art.

- Let's see.

Thinking about something a little more like that one.

There's Mrs. Kennedy,

and the crowd yells,

and the President of the United States.

- Are you coming?

You're not even dressed.

I can see his suntan

all the way from here.

- No. I, uh...

I really, uh...

Shaking hands now

with the Dallas people,

the Governor and Mrs. Connelly.

- You go.

Governor Connelly on your left.

- Well, you said you'd come.

So...

You said you'd come.

- I lied.

- You know, you act like you never even had a son.

Or a wife, for that matter.

- That's pretty good.

You're the one that walked out.

How's lover boy, by the way?

- Will is just a friend, Peter.

- Right!

And Jack Ruby is just a nightclub owner.

- Oh, please.

You know what? Here.

I picked this up by mistake.

- You opened it.

- I thought it was a bill, okay?

- It's an invitation.

- I know.

- To New Orleans.

They've invited me to speak.

You could come with me.

We could make a weekend out of it.

- We don't have that kind of money.

- But look, they've invited me to speak.

- Stop, okay?

I don't want to hear about this anymore.

- How can I not go?

They respect my work.

- Your work?

Fixing things is work.

- What are you saying?

That serious research isn't work?

- Standing at a damn cash register for eight hours is work.

This?

This is an obsession, Peter.

- Obsession, unbelievable.

- Kennedy has been dead for what, 20 years?

A bunch of men meeting at the Swissvale Lodge

are not going to solve anything.

You have wasted your time and my time on this,

this thing you do.

- Wasted my time.

- Look at yourself!

- Look at Kennedy in Zapruder 204.

Kennedy's head--

- This is not going to end well.

It's not going to end like you imagine.

- Next time we see Kennedy he's been hit.

In his face, you can see it.

- Why can't you see this?

- And Connelly hasn't...

Oh, my God, do you know what that means, Annie?

- You're so bright, I...

I don't know why you're doing this to yourself, why?

- It proves it, it proves it that once and for all,

Oswald didn't do it alone, he didn't do it alone.

Oswald didn't do it alone!

It proves it.

I'm not going to miss this opportunity, Annie.

Not for anything.

That's one interesting sideline.

The crowds are still getting bigger here in downtown Dallas.

The motorcade still not in sight.

- You know this is big, right?

Hey, they don't invite just anybody to speak.

- I wouldn't think so.

- Have you heard?

Baumgartner will be there.

- No, I hadn't.

He's coming out with a new book.

He's a publicity hound.

- Yeah, whore is more like it.

- Yeah, well, he doesn't have what we have.

- Hey, listen, Peter.

Deb's giving me grief about going,

so I, uh...

I told her I'd be sharing a room.

That seemed to cool her down a bit.

- Smart.

Oh. No.

Why don't you ask Jerry or Frankie?

- Nah, no go.

Jerry's looking to get lucky

and Frankie can't come, he's got a hernia.

- Come on, Donny.

We're adults.

- I don't snore.

I wear underwear.

And I promise, cross my heart,

to flush every chance I get.

Plus, we'll save some money.

And I hear there's this great place

called The Shim Sham Club.

What do you say?

It'll be fun, right?

You going to eat the rest of that?

- Holy shit.

- Sam!

- Peter. Jesus.

- What are you doing here?

- I tried knocking, but you wouldn't answer the door.

- Uh...

Yeah, I'm sorry, I was,

I was, uh...

- Well, uh...

We haven't spoken in a while,

and I came to say congratulations.

Annie told us about your invitation to speak.

- Yeah.

Yeah, uh...

Hey, sorry about the mess.

How about a drink?

- It's a little bit early for me,

but thanks.

It's 5:00 somewhere, right?

- So, um,

I bet it's quite an honor to be invited.

- It is.

It's, uh...

It's been a lot of work.

The Umbrella Man, huh?

- Who woulda thought, huh?

- So, anyway, now it's just a matter of swinging the trip.

I'm thinking about driving instead of flying to save money,

that way if the hotel's expensive.

You know, it's not just some vacation.

Annie doesn't want me to spend the money,

but how can I not do it, you know?

- Tomorrow I'll leave some cash with my secretary

at the front desk.

- But don't think of it as a loan,

think of it as an investment in the truth.

- Sam's mother gave us this crock pot for our anniversary.

It's about time we break it in.

- Or break it.

I'm not really a fan of stewed anything.

- I like crock pots.

There's something reassuring about them.

- Personally, I find wine reassuring.

Oh, by the way, I

went to see Peter today.

- Oh?

- Have you spoken with him lately?

- I was at the house last week.

- Did you go in?

- No.

Why?

- Well,

it's a disaster in there.

I really think he's losin' it.

- If you ask me,

he's suffering from an acute case of self-indulgence.

- Message from Florence Nightingale.

- He lost his son, Sarah.

- And you didn't?

I'm just saying, it's always been about Peter.

Look where it's gotten you.

- What the hell is that supposed to mean?

- I don't know.

It's just that,

well, Mom and I always thought that

you coulda done better.

- Better?

Better how?

A better catch, better financially, a bigger house?

That's what you're saying, isn't it?

- Yes, that's what I'm saying.

You deserve it.

- I loved Peter, Sarah.

But I guess my priorities were different than yours.

- Nice going, Florence.

- So, I ask you,

was Louis Witt nothing

but someone trying to graft himself

onto the skin of history?

Or was he something more?

I believe his claim of innocence

was a calculated distraction

meant to mislead those of us

who have embarked on a serious and thoughtful...

Serious,

and, discussion

of how that man fits into the events

that unfolded that day in Dallas.

As we've seen in many a Western,

shooting from the hip can be done

with tremendous accuracy by a skilled marksman.

And we know the geometric triangulation

is a reality in the first sound,

the supposed backfire could have distracted

from the less obvious sound of a silenced pistol.

Bang.

Down.

Bang.

Down.

And now I'm just a man with an umbrella

protecting myself from blue sky and fall sunshine

on a late November day in Dallas, Texas.

- You know, you see what I'm saying?

It seems uncivilized, that's all.

- Hey!

- You don't have a first-class ticket,

so you can't use the first-class bathroom?

I mean, is that what it's come to?

- Divide and conquer.

Class warfare is the first step toward total control.

- Yeah, the only person I want controlling my bladder is me.

- I went inside for one minute to take a pee, okay?

- See what I mean?

Divide and conquer.

- Kiss my ass and write the damn ticket, then!

See if I care.

- Does she kiss her mother with that mouth?

I'll check us in.

The rifle they found on the sixth floor

is not the rifle in the backyard photos.

- Room numbers, gentlemen?

- 217.

- Right.

- I got it.

- I'm going to get a snack.

That airplane food went right through me.

- I'll be at the bar.

- Roger that information.

Yeah, can I get a Ruby dog, no onions, no sauerkraut.

- Yeah, but then it ain't a Ruby dog.

- You better gimme two.

- Peter Brennan.

Meet Mr. Butch Riles of Savannah.

- It's a honor to me ya, man.

- Nice to meet you, too.

- Oh, Livingston made it.

The guy's an expert on CIA dirty tricks.

Ultra paranoid, too.

Every year he swears he won't get on another plane.

- And hailing from Chicago, ladies and gentlemen,

Mr. Richard Rudman.

He spent 20 years studying the missing frames

in the Zapruder film.

Groundbreaking work.

Except, in fact, there are no missing frames.

- By the way, he hates being called Dick.

- Who doesn't.

- And then there's Baumgartner.

- Yeah, the one and only.

- The man is nothing if not persuasive.

He's CIA.

- Man, the Star Trek conventions were nothing like this.

- Star Trek was bullshit.

- Hardly.

If you really look at it,

you'll see that it's actually a deep homage

to the Kennedy administration.

You know, the Captain.

James Kirk, same initials, JK.

And the second in command

is a guy with weird ears

who comes from a strange, otherworldly place, you know?

Like Texas.

It's all there.

- Peter.

Dinner.

Etouffee.

You coming?

- Yeah. Sure.

And up,

bang,

down.

And now I'm just a man with an umbrella.

Conspiracy is a human act,

an act by those who don't have the strength or power

or intelligence to do it as they see to do it.

Ready, Donny?

I locked that. - Peter, I'm sorry.

I didn't know.

- It's okay.

Go on downstairs.

I'll meet you down there.

I will get it.

- Sorry, man. I didn't know.

- I will see you downstairs, Donny.

- The need for a gunman on the grassy knoll

was mitigated by the placement of a shooter in...

- Hey, Peter, I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to go through your--

- Forget it, I said.

- Once again, that was Dr. Wayne Davis.

- For years, conventional theory has held

that the Umbrella Man provided a signal

to multiple shooters.

An alternate theory is held by

Peter Brennan, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

We're fortunate to have him here today.

Mr. Brennan?

- When I first began my research not so long ago,

although it seems like a lifetime,

a friend of mine told me that the Zapruder film

was the Rosetta Stone to the Kennedy assassination.

He said

if you could crack the code

and draw back the curtain,

the notion of a single shooter from above and behind

would melt away,

like a child's snowman in the spring sunshine.

After watching the film 100 times,

I noticed something

that no one had ever seen before.

At least not anyone outside the FBI or the CIA.

Pay close attention.

The two frames that I am going to show you

are the key

to unlocking the truth about what really happened that day

and may bring us one step closer to justice.

I present frames 204 and 205.

Frame 204,

frame 205.

Frame 204,

frame 205.

04,

05.

04,

05.

04, 05.

Within one frame of film, 1/18th of a second,

the President's head shifts nearly 45 degrees.

Clearly, a startled, involuntary reaction.

A reaction to a gunshot.

A shot fired from within 20 feet

of the Presidential limousine.

A shot fired by the Umbrella Man.

04,

05.

04,

05.

- 04, 05. - 04, 05.

04, 05.

Congratulations, Mr. Brennan.

Quite impressive.

I'd say at the very least you have a firm grasp

on gradeschool arithmetic.

- Mr. Baumgartner, I don't believe that Mr. Brennan

had concluded his presentation.

- Of course he has.

Frames 204 and 205.

What else is there?

Nothing.

You say you watched this, what,

100 times or so?

And then and only then you spotted this so-called proof?

- Any place that there are human beings,

there is human nature and--

- A fishing expedition is what

you're really on, Mr. Brennan.

Admit it.

It's what you people do.

- There is the sorting of people

amongst themselves against each other.

Conspiracy.

- Conspiracy is a dangerous word.

Don't you think?

- Conspiracy is a human act.

- Mr. Brennan.

May I call you Peter?

Mr. Brennan, then.

I knew people on the Warren Commission personally.

- They gather and they plot.

They bind together in their desires.

- You don't think they watched this film 100 times?

I know for a fact they watched it at least 1,000 times.

And don't you think it odd that the foremost legal minds

and forensic experts in our country

never, ever saw what you say you see?

- Mr. Baumgartner, please, let the man finish.

- Was Louis Witt nothing more than someone

trying to graft himself on the skin of history?

- Of all the volumes of evidence

proving that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone,

you come up with the notion

that the man who actually shot

the President of the United States

stood there with an open umbrella on a sunny day

so as to not be conspicuous.

- Shut up, Baumgartner.

Go ahead, Peter.

- I believe that his claim of innocence

was a calculated distraction.

- He wants no one to notice,

so he holds a black umbrella

to hide the fact that he's the assassin.

- Intended to mislead those of us

who have embarked on a serious and thoughtful--

- What?

A serious and thoughtful what?

- Discussion of how that man fits into the events--

- A complete and utter disregard for the facts

is your idea of a serious discussion?

- Progression of how that man

fits into the events that unfolded that day in Dallas!

- Hogwash!

Your methodology is flawed and your conclusion is absurd.

And in light of this, I'd say that the child's snowman

is alive and well and doing just fine, thank you.

Spring sunshine notwithstanding.

- I think we should take a short break

before we move on to the next speaker.

Ten minutes, everyone.

- Hey!

Hola, senorita!

- Will, what in the world?

You're two hours early.

I was gonna-- - No, I'm not.

Tonight there is no time,

no

tiempo.

Only you and me in a very expensive lake house,

full of champagne and jumbo shrimp.

- You're crazy, you know that?

- Yes.

Yes, I am.

Crazy as a loon.

- I screwed up, that's what happened.

- Oh, what of it.

Seattle's in six months.

We'll fine-tune things,

and then it will be Baumgartner's turn.

- I need a drink.

- Hey, Mark Lane's hosting a suite on the fourth floor.

I'm going to get his book signed.

- Hey, what is it they say about beer?

- That you can't buy it, you can only rent it.

- That's it.

Jerry, I'm comin' with you.

- Might anyone conspire to buy a lady a drink?

- What do you know about conspiring?

- Just that it's not that hard, that's all.

What, are you a cop or something?

You know, if you are a cop, the law says

you have to identify yourself when asked.

- Do you even know who you are?

- Well, who does it look like I think I am?

- Hiya, Deb, how--

Do I know what time--

Of course, I know what time--

Research, baby, that's what--

- Yes, can I speak to Eleanor Witt, please?

- Deb. Shh, honey.

- Eleanor, Simon.

I'm sorry to bother you at work.

I need to get your address again.

Yes.

Tomorrow, if that's still okay.

Louis is home, I trust?

- Deb, listen, something big is going down.

- All right, very good, Eleanor.

I'll see you then.

Okay.

Bye-bye.

- Deb, stop.

I gotta go.

Take a bubble bath or something.

- Excuse me.

National security.

- And so I said to Premier Kruschev,

"Nikita, you'll just have to find your own girls."

Jackie, I thought you were in Hyannis Port.

- Oh, well, you were wrong.

Nice jacket, by the way.

- I got it from Joseph McCarthy.

My brother, Teddy, has been accused

of philandering at night in the New England area.

- How are you this evening?

- Bourbon. Neat.

Sorry.

- Double grasshopper, s'il vous plait.

- Jackie was taken aback

by Nikita Kruschev's appearance.

- Are you even old enough to drink?

- I'm old enough to do anything.

You are a cop!

- No, I'm not a cop.

It's part of my presentation.

You're a little paranoid.

- Well, I'd say I'm in good company.

- So, is this what you do?

Show up and play the part?

- I was Betty Boop at a pipefitters' convention

in St. Louis last weekend

and I cleared $2,000.

- Do you really need that kind of money?

- Oh, I do.

How else do you think I can afford

to decorate the White House?

- My little brother, Ted, Senator Kennedy...

- Mr. Peter Brennan.

All talk,

no action.

- Fuck off.

- So,

what's a girl like you doing

hanging around with a crackpot like this?

- Pardon me?

- The man just got made a fool of today

with his laughable theories.

- You say that as if theories aren't all you're clinging to.

- He's self-deluded, Jacqueline, forgive him.

He's had a very bad day.

- Why don't you take a walk?

- Well, why don't you

go buy yourself some new theories, Petey.

- And so, I took the Queen's hand

and told her what an honor and pleasure it was to meet her

to reaffirm our commitment to England.

- Take this and

you and me can...

- Leave the lady alone.

- Have a little fun later on.

- I said leave the lady alone!

- Oh!

- And do you know what the Queen said?

- Fuck me!

- Now we're talking.

- It took me two days to make this dress, you turd.

- Pardon me, Madam First Lady, I didn't--

- Let's get outta here.

- Jackie, you're making a mistake!

Jackie, you're walking outta your context!

- And every time Nora got up to go pee she'd--

- Let the water running in the shower.

- In the shower, right?

Aw, that weekend was huge.

100,000 people,

mad as hell,

screaming their lungs out,

fighting with the police.

And we...

We never left the room.

- Well, that's because we were having

more fun than they were.

- Do you even like these things?

- Peter, Jesus, I've been lookin' all over for ya.

I have some intel.

I was at the phones on the mezzanine,

and I heard Simon talking to...

- Who?

- Witt's wife.

- What?

- He knows where Witt is.

He's just outside of Dallas.

He's going there tomorrow afternoon,

and I have got his address.

- Okay, who are you talking about?

- I gotta get there before he does.

I gotta go now.

How much money do you have?

- Well, not enough, man.

Wait till tomorrow, we'll get the guys to pitch in.

- No, that's too late.

- Okay, I said who?

- Baumgartner.

- Is that the shithead who ruined my skirt?

- Yeah, that's the shithead who ruined your skirt.

- Let me handle this.

'62 Rambler, parked around the corner.

Pull up front. Meet me there.

- Why?

I'm taking you to Dallas.

Just get the car, Peter.

I'll take care of Bunwarmer, or whatever his name is.

- I can't go, Peter, Deb'll kill me.

Peter!

The arrow of truth, right?

- I don't know what song it is,

but it's a great song.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, that's what I need, baby.

Oh, yeah.

Well, well.

Look who's come to her senses.

Sorry about the dress.

- What can I say?

You were right.

That jerk was all talk.

- Well,

I got the presidential suite upstairs.

- You do?

A presidential suite?

Really?

- Jesus, what's the hurry, baby?

- Time is money, right?

- Well, yeah, but a guy likes it...

Whoa!

- You do have money, don't you?

- Of course, I do.

- That's a little thing I learned in Paris.

- What else you learn in Paris?

- How much do you have?

- It's in my pocket. Don't stop.

- This one?

- It's all the money you need, baby.

- Ooh, what are you, a banker or something?

- Well, I'm several things, but I'm a--

- You don't need this either.

- What? No, wait a second.

You only--

- Now, where were we?

- Scoot! Get over!

- You didn't kill him, did you?

Just a little.

- Remember this?

I thought I'd lost it all these years.

It turns out Sarah had it the whole time.

You remember when we got it?

- Yeah, I do.

- Yeah, you...

You couldn't come home for the holidays, so

I had to come and visit you.

- That was a long time ago.

- Yeah.

♫ You are my forever

- God, I've missed you.

♫ Hold me in your arms

- Will, that weekend at school...

That was special, right?

- Yeah.

Yeah, it was.

- You remember the weekend?

- Of course I do.

- It was that weekend.

- Yeah.

Yeah, it certainly was.

- No, I mean, he or she would be, what--

- Shh.

- 15.

- Don't. - By now?

I try not to,

but with you here,

it's hard.

He or...

He or she

would have been a sophomore by now.

- Would have been.

- Are you ever curious?

She would have been ours, Will.

- And so would all the trouble that comes with it.

You know that better than anybody.

- What are you saying?

Will, stop. What do you...

What do you mean by that?

I wouldn't trade those years with Ben for anything.

- All I'm saying is,

having a kid was a commitment

the two of us were not ready to make.

- You didn't want it, Will.

I did it because you didn't want it.

- Look at all the shit you've been through.

And for what?

To end up with a broken heart and a nut job for a husband.

That could have been me just as well as Peter.

No, thank you.

- Peter held our son in his arms and watched him die.

He said after it happened,

Ben looked up at him like he wanted to ask him a question,

but he couldn't find the words.

Peter and I had something wonderful together,

and then we went through something terrible together,

but he's the only person in the world

who will ever feel what I feel.

- What about us?

We loved each other once.

- That wasn't love, Will.

I had a child with a man who wanted that child

and who wanted me.

That's love.

- The Stemmons freeway sign was removed

within days of Kennedy's assassination.

It's probably in the basement of the FBI for all we know.

The rifle in the National Archives

is not the same one as the backyard photo.

Different straps, different serial numbers.

- So, Peter, do you have any kids?

- Not anymore.

- Tell me what happened.

- No.

- My God, Peter, you can't not talk about it.

That's not healthy.

You can tell me.

- She kissed me.

Three other girls held me down,

she sat on me, and she kissed me.

I mean, yuck, Dad.

- I had a son.

I took him hunting on the first day of hunting season,

just like my father did,

to show him the outdoors.

- Pretty cool.

- Yeah.

These guys were drinking.

- So why don't you open up your little register

and give me my damn change.

- They say they weren't, but I know they were.

I looked away,

just for a second.

- Dad, where are the Twinkies?

- Ben ran back for something.

And they shot him.

- Ben!

- Look.

Dallas.

96 miles.

Almost there.

- Excuse me?

I'm looking for Louis Witt.

I'm Peter Brennan.

Your husband may have heard of me.

- Then again, probably not.

- I'm looking

for Louis Steven Witt.

I would like to ask him some questions.

- It seems like every time I hang the wash

out here on the line it rains.

- He worked for Rio Grande Insurance.

Carlos Marcello had connections with him.

- I don't know why I do it.

Do you think it's gonna rain, Mr. Brennan?

- Marcello paid your husband to shoot Kennedy, didn't he?

- My husband didn't shoot anybody.

- That's a lie.

Marcello paid your husband to shoot Kennedy.

Where is he?

- Oh. Here we go.

- Peter, easy.

- I said, where is he?

- He's in the living room,

through that door there.

- There's nobody here.

- Who are you people?

And what is it that's missin' in your own lives?

It's been 20 years and all you have

are your books and your clues and your fancy theories.

- Baumgartner called.

Why?

Simon is my cousin, Mr. Brennan.

He's comin' to pay his respects.

- You're lying.

How do I even know you're his wife?

- Peter, come on, I think we should--

- He's still alive, God damn it.

Tell me where he is!

He killed Kennedy! Admit it!

- Peter, stop!

- What do you want me to say?

That he worked for Marcello or Hoover or Castro?

And he was given a gun and an umbrella

and programmed by the CIA or the KGB to shoot that man?

As they looked at each other not but 20 feet apart?

Is that what you want to hear?

Is that the kind of man you thought my husband was?

- I just want the truth.

- It's because he was there, isn't it?

He was part of history,

and you're not.

He was connected to it,

and you're not.

That's it, isn't it?

And it drives all of you crazy, doesn't it?

You killed him.

All of you!

You're nothing but a bunch of bums.

You make me sick.

- Let's go.

- Peter, are you okay?

- Just get in the car.

- Peter, where are we going?

- We're going downtown.

We're going to Dealey Plaza.

We're going downtown.

We're going to Dealey Plaza.

We're going to Dealey Plaza.

We're going to Dealey Plaza.

- So, this is it?

- Yeah, this is it.

Dealey Plaza was named after the founder

of the Dallas Morning News.

He hated Kennedy.

The whole thing keeps you awake at night.

Kennedy was shot here in a place of honor for his enemy.

You look at it and think,

what was he doing out there?

Didn't he know it could be dangerous?

But that's the whole point, isn't it?

That the world was so different then.

Our age of innocence.

From a distance it all seems so much clearer.

Justice.

Seems like something you can depend on.

An idealistic notion until you are in the middle of it.

The motorcade entered the plaza

from Main Street

and turned

right over there on Elm Street.

People were clapping,

happy to see him.

After the shots began,

people ran over here,

up this hill,

to the railroad tracks behind the fence.

Everyone had a different version of the same instant.

But when you're in the middle of it, it's so clear.

That's how they must have felt.

- Who?

Peter, who?

- The witnesses.

The witnesses standing right here.

Everyone had a different version of what happened.

Zapruder.

Zapruder stood right here.

He loved Kennedy.

He practiced shooting frames of his secretary

to make sure his camera was running.

The triple overpass.

It was a hot day, and Mrs. Kennedy saw the shade,

and was looking forward to cool air.

Her last innocent thought.

The shots came from above and to the left.

Car nearly stopped

right there.

Witnesses say they saw smoke from behind that fence.

The Stemmons freeway sign was right there.

And everybody had a story that day.

And they all stick to the version they want to remember.

The Umbrella Man stood here.

Right here.

He stood here and opened his umbrella on a sunny day.

The sign was here, Zapruder was there,

and for a brief moment

that damn sign blocks the view from his camera.

Key frames that could have told us so much.

How is it possible?

It's so absurd.

You look away,

you blink,

and everything changes.

An instant,

over and over and over and over again in your head!

He stood right here with an umbrella on a sunny day,

protecting himself from something that doesn't exist!

Why would he do that, I have to know!

Why he'd do that, what is the connection,

why would he do that?

- I don't know!

Nobody knows!

Nobody will ever know!

Sometimes things just happen, Peter.

I don't know, for some reason,

I don't know, maybe it's,

maybe it's God or the universe or whatever,

sometimes things just, they happen.

That's what my grandma always told me, she said...

She said sometimes things just happen.

Oh, Peter.

- I guess that's just what there is,

a pile of facts

that I can't make into anything neat.

And even if I could,

it doesn't change anything, does it?

I guess it's possible

it happened just like they said it did.

No perfect conspiracy,

no complicated reality,

just a man in a window,

making two perfect shots in under five seconds.

- And a little boy,

just doing what little boys do.

- My God.

What am I doing?

- Hey.

Do you think they mean it?

- I'm sure they do.

So, is this who you really are?

- Well, now, that's part of the mystery, isn't it?

Come with me.

I thought about following the rodeo for a while, you know,

I'm working on this fantastic Annie Oakley getup.

- I'm sure you'll knock 'em dead.

- Thanks for the history lesson.

♫ When you least expect it

♫ Somethin's gonna come

- Been gone long?

- Yeah. ♫ You'll be affected

Too long.

♫ You will be undone

♫ It will creep into

♫ The darkest place inside of you

♫ And it will wait

♫ And you will ache

♫ Clouds will come

♫ Rain will fall

♫ Hope will fail

♫ When you've lost it all

♫ You've lost it all

♫ You've lost it all

♫ Clouds will come

♫ Rain will fall

♫ Time will heal you

♫ When you've lost it all

♫ You've lost it all

♫ You've lost it all

♫ When you least expect it

♫ Somethin's gonna change

♫ You'll feel stronger

♫ You'll feel strange

♫ But you'll go on

♫ You'll hold on

♫ Just hold on

♫ Clouds will come

♫ Rain will fall

♫ Love will save you

♫ When you've lost it all

♫ You've lost it all

♫ You've lost it all

♫ You've lost it all