Interview with the Assassin

Barry's deliberately unspectacular performance makes this even more powerful. He gives "Assassin" a disquieting authority.

Neil Burger's sharply conceived, inventive movie is a highly involving piece of work.

Do not read too much into Burger's mockumentary, then; it's just having a lark, poking fun at conspiracy theorists, taking the piss out of the dozens of docs out there that present themselves as The Real Story About the Killing of John Kennedy.

Like ''Blair,'' it never quite finds a way out of its own built-in dead-end.

It's an interesting effort (particularly for JFK conspiracy nuts), and Barry's cold-fish act makes the experience worthwhile.

No "JFK," but the story is weirdly compelling when it focuses on the journalist's growing paranoia as he plunges ever more deeply into a world of conspiracies that may or may not really exist.

It's just a gimmick, right down to its Washington release date.