The Marina Oswald Story
Immediately after her husband assassinated President Kennedy, Marina Oswald (Helena Bonham Carter) found herself not only the attention of the media but being questioned by the Secret Service who made it clear they could deport her back to Russia if she didn't co-operate. Having given evidence in the Warren Commission life becomes difficult for Marina and her children as her broken English and surname makes it difficult to move on. Although she finds happiness and remarries the past is always there especially when in the 70s the past is stirred up by some apparent new evidence leading to Marina testifying in front of the House Select Committee on Assassinations and more stress for her children who find the staring and attention hard to deal with.
You spot a movie and think why? Why was that movie ever made, what story could it tell? That is how I felt when I came across "Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald" because to my knowledge other than being married to Lee Harvey Oswald his wife Marina was not involved in the assassination. And if truth be told if it wasn't for the fact that I spotted Helena Bonham Carter's name in the credits I may have not bothered with it. The thing is that after watching "Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald" I don't believe the movie needed to be made although it has some interesting aspects.
The biggest thing which "Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald" gets across is that she was a victim of what happened. If going on what the movie says is true she had to deal with threats of deportation which combined with struggling to speak the language made her vulnerable. But we also see how even years later Marina along with her child could not escape from the past and what Lee Harvey did, or didn't do depending on you own view of events. As such this side is quite good and despite rushing through this it does generate sympathy for Marina.
But then we get the other side of the movie, the flashback to Marian meeting Oswald when he had defected to Russia and so on. The thing is that whilst it suggests certain things about his beliefs, his upbringing, his connections and intentions it is not overly interesting. It is why despite having some interesting aspects including good performances from Helena Bonham Carter and Frank Whaley "Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald" is a movie which didn't need to be made.
What this all boils down to is that "Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald" has its moments and does make you feel something for Marina having to live with what her husband did. But beyond that "Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald" feels like a movie which didn't need to be made.
