TFBS Articles & Analysis, Film, Five to Watch, Lists

Five to Watch: Fact-Based Films With Disputed Facts

If you plan to tell a screen story inspired by real-life events, the facts of which are in dispute, here are five films to watch, plus a look at some of the issues they raise (script sources, where available)…

JFK (1991)

There may be no better example of a film with disputed facts than Oliver Stone’s polarising take on the John F. Kennedy assassination. Eschewing the “lone gunman” theory that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, co-writer and director Stone posits a far-ranging conspiracy which takes in the CIA, FBI, Cuban exiles, the Mafia, and the White House. Meticulously researched and intricately structured, the three-hour-plus film is something to be admired, even if you don’t buy into Stone’s assertions*.

The film caused much furore on its release, suggesting that Stone touched a nerve. It also led to the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, which made millions of pages of records relating to the assassination available to researchers.

Writer takeaway: Putting forward a polarising narrative can be a great way to offer an original slant on a historical event, though newer writers might run into problems if their take on the material is too controversial, especially if making legally actionable assertions.

Script source: Script Slug

Vice (2018)

Given that it was written and directed by Adam McKay, who brought us The Big Short (2015), it’s probably unsurprising that this film becomes more an irreverent, tongue-in-cheek take on the life of Dick Cheney, rather than a serious-minded political biopic, such as Nixon (1995). Indeed, criticisms of McKay’s film were more related to the biased anti-Cheney point-of-view than any historical inaccuracies.

As with the earlier film, this fictionalised take on the man who became Vice President to George W. Bush provided an opportunity for the filmmakers to comment on the wider, lasting impact decisions made in these years by those in charge had, domestically and globally. Take a look at the trailer:

Writer takeaway: Adopting an irreverent tone can help to present a historical event in an interesting way and to showcase a writer’s unique ‘voice’. However, again, taking liberties with a real-life figure might present issues when trying to sell the script.

Script source: Script Slug

Reversal of Fortune (1990)

The issue with this legal drama is the still unanswered question of whether socialite Claus von Bulow was actually guilty of the attempted murder of his wealthy wife “Sunny” von Bülow by injecting her with insulin. Convicted at trial, von Bülow launched an appeal, which is the focus of the film. The protagonist is Alan Dershowitz, upon whose book the film is based.

The clever structure and the focus on Dershowitz and his law students is a novel take on the classic legal drama and is a great example of how to fictionalise a historical event which does not have a clear-cut ending+. Take a look at the trailer:

Writer takeaway: Real-life events which do not offer a neat resolution can still form the basis of an interesting narrative if the writer looks beyond the obvious structure and chooses a compelling protagonist whose personal journey can form the spine of the story.

The Social Network (2010)

The story of how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook is certainly compelling. However, it also came with several narrative challenges, not least conflicting accounts and claims of how the social networking platform actually came into being, some of which ended up in court.

Writer Aaron Sorkin takes all of these elements and points-of-view to craft a narrative that is at once coherent and fractured; straightforward and unreliable; fictional and fact-based, resulting in what is widely considered one of the most notable films based on real-life events released in recent years.

Writer takeaway: Fact-based films are still narrative films, not documentaries, so it is important they work as drama. One of Sorkin’s strengths as a writer is that he never sacrifices the screen story, even when working with historical material. For another example, see The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020).

Script sources: Deadline / Script Slug

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Written by Mark Boal and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who brought us The Hurt Locker (2008), the later film concerns the multi-year hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The protagonist is a rookie CIA operative who was part of the “interrogation” team and had a single-minded focus on finding bin Laden. The film employs the same “run and gun” style as Bigelow’s earlier film, sweeping us along with the US Navy SEALs as they track bin Laden, with Boal rewriting the script when – spoiler alert – bin Laden was eventually killed in 2011.

Criticism of the film centred on its attitude to torture. This included the filmmaker’s “tunnel vision” point-of-view which asserted that it was only through “enhanced interrogation” that the al-Qaeda leader was found and exterminated, as famously expressed in Apocalypse Now (1979), with “extreme prejudice”.

Writer takeaway: While some ‘issues’ films take flack for being too polarised, not taking a stance can lead to criticism or even suggestions that the work supports an unpopular viewpoint. For writers who want to tackle a social issue, defining the film’s POV and adding some form of counterpoint can present a stronger narrative. For a further example, see The Report (2019)

Script source: Script Slug

Notes

* JFK was accompanied by a remarkable 600-page book, complete with an annotated screenplay which details the research sources used, 340 research notes and a lengthy section of 97 commentaries and reactions to the film. See: The Book of the Film: JFK The Documented Screenplay by Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar (Applause Books, 1992)

+ For more on how the filmmakers approached Reversal of Fortune, see The Art of Adaptation: Turning Fact and Fiction into Film by Linda Seger (2011) pp 56-62

# At the time of Zero Dark Thirty’s release, lots of articles were published supporting and critiquing the film’s viewpoint. For example, see: