by Annette Basile

Year:  2024

Director:  Neil McGregor

Release:  30 August 2024

Running time: 92 minutes

Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth

Cast:
John Hinckley Jr

Intro:
... a compelling documentary that supplements the extensive Hinckley interviews with archival footage, which bolsters the narrative, and is expertly woven in, making the documentary feel, at times, like a time capsule.

It was the summer of ‘76 and John Hinckley Jr said to himself, “Well, I have nothing else to do, I’ll go see Taxi Driver”. It was a fateful decision.

The classic film, directed by Martin Scorsese, stars Robert De Niro as the unhinged veteran Travis Bickle and Jodie Foster as Iris, a child prostitute. Hinckley – who would later be diagnosed with a clutch of psychiatric illnesses – became obsessed with Foster. Inspired by Bickle’s cinematic attempt to assassinate a presidential candidate, Hinckley decided he would do the same, hoping to impress Foster. He sat through multiple screenings of the film, which itself was inspired by a real-life assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford in 1975.

In 1980, with no political motives, Hinckley targeted US President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, who was on the campaign trail. Unarmed, he wanted to see how close he could get to Carter (the answer is 6 metres). Carter lost that election to one-time Hollywood actor and Republican, Ronald Reagan. A few months later, in March 1981, Hinckley would become infamous for shooting the newly-inaugurated Reagan in the chest and injuring three others. Hinckley’s bullet landed in Reagan’s lung, a hair’s breadth from the presidential heart. Hinckley was found “not guilty by reason of insanity” and spent most of his life locked up – not in jail, but in a mental institution.

Today, Hinckley, 69, is a free man. He lives with a ginger cat, paints feline portraits (he’s a “cat guy”, he says), and plays music, posting his original songs on his own YouTube channel (he has over 40,000 subscribers right now). Hinckley – I Shot the President is told in the would-be assassin’s own words. He comes across as insightful, remorseful and somewhat medicated.

Aussie producer/director Neil McGregor (Growing Happiness, Ramblin’ Racer) has crafted a compelling documentary that supplements the extensive Hinckley interviews with archival footage, which bolsters the narrative, and is expertly woven in, making the documentary feel, at times, like a time capsule.

The film passes no judgement on Hinckley, leaving room for viewers to make their own conclusions. It’s packed with fascinating details – including courtroom sketches, and, incredibly, recorded phone conversations between Hinckley and Foster, who had no idea who Hinckley was or that he was stalking her while she was a student at Yale.

While the focus is on Hinckley, the film’s scope is broader, raising questions about gun control, and covering the aftermath of Hinckley’s controversial trial – where Taxi Driver was screened for the jury – and the protests against the insanity plea defence.

Hinckley – I Shot the President premieres on 30 August, with early access from 27 August 2024. Available now for PRE-PURCHASE

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Score
8.5
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