PARKLAND (15, 94 mins) *** Starring James Badge Dale, Zac Efron, Marcia Gay Harden, Billy Bob Thornton, Ron Livingston, Jacki Weaver, Paul Giamatti, Colin Hanks, Tom Welling, Jackie Earle Haley, David Harbour, Mark Duplass, Kat Steffens, Jeremy Strong. Director: Peter Landesman

Every generation remembers where it was when the course of human history changed forever with an awe-inspiring triumph or devastating tragedy.

On November 22, 1963, America recoiled at news that President John F Kennedy had been fatally shot during a visit to Dallas, Texas.

Writer-director Peter Landesman dramatises events before, during and after the fateful motorcade, through the eyes of men and women whose paths intersected with the Kennedys that autumn day.

Adapted from Vincent Bugliosi’s book Four Days In November, Parkland is a star-laden dramatic reconstruction that unfolds from too many perspectives to be utterly engrossing. Landesman crams historical footnotes into the 94 minutes when he should be focusing on a handful of protagonists. Less would be more.

There are some remarkable images here: nurse Nelson tending to Jacqueline (Steffens) in the operating room, the Secret Service struggling to carry Kennedy’s coffin aboard Air Force One.

But there is also a frustrating dearth of gut-wrenching emotion on the screen that might have knitted together the myriad plot strands.

Ten years from now, when audiences are asked, “Where were you when you saw Parkland?”, they will probably draw a blank.