Imagine America’s response to the assassination of George W. Bush. How would the public react, what would Government agencies do, and how would President Richard Cheney retaliate to the perceived threat to national security? These are some of the dark questions put by UK dramatist, Gabriel Range. Death of a President is a PBS-styled investigative documentary, the kind that fill Tuesday schedules on SBS. It is about that watershed moment in October 2007 and is, of course, pure fiction. Yet you’d be forgiven for confusing it with reality, such is Range’s skill in compiling this eyewitness account of future history.

Range ‘interviews’ key players and cuts them with doctored news footage, acknowledging that Whitehouse consent was not given. The slick results are unnerving as international leaders seamlessly mix with actors in his reconstructed, digital world. Death of a President extrapolates contemporary affairs to build a case for terrorism, then tears it apart by removing the pillars of paranoia. Shocking governmental neglect is spun on its head as Range reveals that this abuse is already occurring across America, and across the world.

Therein lies the film’s strength and weakness. Anyone conversant with the subject will know this truth; those who are not probably won’t see Death of a President. Preaching to the converted, no matter how cleverly one relays the message, doesn’t change minds. Although he caused a minor furore and was accused of political meddling, Range’s film lacks the heartfelt sensationalism that made Michael Moore a household name. His reserved style will have its fans, but is unlikely to reach those who need to hear his story.

// COLIN FRASER