JOHN MACKENZIE FEATURE
.iohn Machenzle tells Trevor Johnston
'about the mailing oi Ruby.
Alter Oliver Stone’s hectoring JFil,the prospect oi another movie dealing with November 1963’s events in Dallas seems likely to till most viewers with little enthusiasm. Such preconceptions shouldn’t put anyone ott seeing ituby, however, tor tar trom being another predictable retread oi the same old conspiracy theorising, John Macilenzie's tiim is one oi the movie year’s most unexpected surprises. Less an investigative expose than a
5 moodyportrayalotthe marginalised
dreamers and psychotics peopllng America’s seamy underbelly, it’s a welcome reminder that, given'the right material, hiacltenzle is still a movie
talent to reckon with. You may indeed ; iind yourselt much more engrossed by
lluby’s atmospheric character study than the sell-righteous speechiiying oi its big budget predecessor.
“With this material you have to iind another angle on it, otherwise people are going to teal that they've seen it all
beiore,’concursthe8cots~bom '. director. ‘i wasn't interested in making
i l
a tiim about who did or didn't shoot JFK, and although stephen Davis, the writer, had done years oi research, there’s a lot oi stuii in Ruby that we've
' out the crimelords with melt JFK
imagined or created. iiot thatyou could say itwastotaliy untrue, but he always believed that history isnft last about a collection oi tacts. Drama can getyouciosertothetruth,ihereal- truth, than any sort oi documentary realism.’
As played with gritty conviction by Danny Aielio, Jack Ruby is a small-time Dallas strip-loint owner ' t with a yearning tor a larger slice oi the action. As a Jewtrom Chicago, he's an outsider in the Seoul, and with his business ialtering and the local police on his tail, lite ioolrsto be on the slide until he takes ambitious newdancer ‘Candy cane' (Shortlyn Fenn) under his wing and his tormer moo connections begin to payoli. Asihe Kennedy administration starts hammering down on organised racketeering, iivby and Candy can help themselves by helping
problem when the President visits Dallas. Yet as shady 0M operative Maxwell (Arliss tioward) intimates, there are other conspiracies stool and. with events hardly running to ituhy’s game plan, his one shot atthe big time turns out to be exactly that.
‘The thing about liubywasthathe was one otthose bit-players who hitthe limelight tor the brletest oi moments andbecausenoonereallybnowsaii thatmuchabouthim'. ittreesyouin whatyou can dowith the character,’ retiects Macxenzie. ‘i saw iiuby'as a kind ot seedy everyman, someone who ieeis iiire he’s on the outside looking in, who has this burning trustration that he should be iurther up the ladder than ‘ he achiaiiy is.’
Ruby opens across Central Scotland on Fridabeune.
The List 5 — 18 warm 9