When a single, unattributed missile is launched at the United States, a race begins to determine who is responsible and how to respond.
Chuck says:
Timely, taut and terrifying, Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite” is a master class in suspense, times three. Working from a script by former journalist Noah Oppenheim, the director plays out an all-too-real doomsday scenario from a trio of different perspectives, taking the viewer repeatedly on a tumultuous ride that ends with the most dire of circumstances. Bigelow provides us with a behind-the-scenes look at how the United States would respond were a nuclear attack to ensue. The result is a sobering revelation that while those in charge may assure us of the nation’s readiness for such an incident, there really is no such thing.
The shadow of Sidney Lumet’s “Fail Safe” hangs over the film, and the fact that this cautionary tale must be told once more speaks to the lunacy we’re a slave to and the continued paranoia of our leaders. The story opens on the 49th Missile Battalion in Greely, Alaska. Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos) has reported to duty for what he anticipates will be another uneventful day. That notion is soon shattered when an intercontinental missile is launched from an unidentifiable location.
The initial assumption is this is another test launch by the North Koreans. However, that notion is soon discounted when its flight path flattens, its trajectory suggesting its destination will be somewhere in the United States Midwest. Counter measures are deployed; they fail. Members of the White House and the president’s cabinet are notified, all knocked back on their heels by the import of dealing with a scenario they hoped would never come.
From the time the missile launches until it reaches its destination is 18 minutes, an event that’s played out three times as Bigelow and Oppenheim move up the chain of command. The film’s second act examines how the Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris) and General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts), the head of the nuclear command center in Nebraska would approach this crisis. The final section focuses on the President’s (an outstanding Idris Elba) reaction.
That Bigelow and Oppenheim are able to effectively manipulate the audience three times, despite our knowing how things play out after the opening thirty minutes is an impressive feat. Surprisingly, the tension is greater with each re-telling, our knowledge of what will happen only increasing the sense of dread. The ineffectiveness of our nation’s countermeasures, technology glitches at key moments, a bad cellphone connection and other commonplace errors take on greater import in these circumstances. That a dropped call may impact the fate of everyone on the planet is sobering as well as fittingly ironic.
The cast of veterans Bigelow’s assembled captures the sense of ever-mounting dread and the ultimate despair that overcomes their characters. In addition to Harris and Letts, Rebecca Ferguson as Captain Olivia Walker, Jason Clarke as Admiral Mark Miller and Greta Lee as advisor Ana Park all shine as each slowly realize they’re helpless in the face of certain annihilation.
If there’s a standout, it’s Gabriel Basso as Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington. The actor brilliantly captures his character’s ability to walk a fine line between panic and assuredness, only to ultimately let his humanity get the better of him. A scene in which he finds himself talking to the Russian President is a bracing, human moment that undercuts the game of brinksmanship being played. In a movie of distinctly dramatic moments, it may be the most moving.
The ending is likely to be polarizing but it’s one that demands reflection and consideration. While it may initially seem ambiguous, it proves fitting in emphasizing the folly and futility of the nuclear arms race. “Dynamite” drives home that once a single missile is in the air, there’s not a single scenario that could play out in which we don’t all end up as victims. The powers-that-be have painted us all into a corner from which no winners will emerge. The notion that “it’s not a matter of if, but when,” has never been so starkly laid out as it is here. That the world is currently in a volatile and uncertain state only increases the horror “Dynamite” assures us is a certainty.
4 Stars
Pam says:
Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow returns with one of the year’s most unsettling and emotionally charged dramas, “A House of Dynamite.” Set in what feels like the current day, the story begins with a nuclear missile launch toward the United States; its launch site unknown as indicated by the remote military station first noting its presence. As national leaders scramble for answers, the story unfolds through three distinct perspectives — each one providing more insight and more emotion as the target is determined to be Chicago.
The first viewpoint takes us to the military control room where Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos) leads a team tasked with intercepting the missile. Sixteen minutes; that’s all the time they have before impact. They’ve trained for this, they can do this, but their unwavering professionalism begins to crack, revealing fear, doubt, and the limits of human composure under impossible pressure.
From there, Bigelow shifts us to the Situation Room as we go from DEFCON 4 to 3, to 2 and Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) navigates the crisis while in the back of her mind is her young son and husband, blissfully unaware of what the near future will bring. Supporting her are Cathy Rogers (Moses Ingram), FEMA’s director, the Deputy National Security Advisor played passionately by Gabriel Basso, the Secretary of Defense Reid (Jared Harris) whose daughter lives in the targeted zone of Chicago, and General Brady whose cavalier and somewhat dismissive attitude quickly dissipates. Each interaction edited with the precision of a surgeon, gives way to another element of the story previously unknown. Seemingly small details connect us with the characters, allow us to walk in their shoes as they deal with the unfathomable. But it isn’t until the third and final point of view, told through the President who until now was just a voice on a secure video line, adds another devastating layer to the story.
What makes “A House of Dynamite” extraordinary isn’t only its precision or its suspense, it’s how personal and real it feels. Bigelow never lets us retreat. She forces us to confront our own questions: What would I do with sixteen minutes left? Who would I call? Would I warn anyone?
The ensemble cast is uniformly superb, but it is Bigelow’s direction and the taut, human-centered screenplay filled with ethical and moral questions that bind it together. Every frame, every scene pulses with tension and every silence and glance speaks volumes.
This isn’t an easy film to watch, but it’s impossible to look away. From the first act, we know where this story is heading, yet hope persists, flickering like a candle in the wind, unwilling to let it go out. And that is the brilliance of Bigelow’s vision: she makes us feel the weight of inevitability, and still, somehow, we hope.
“A House of Dynamite” is harrowing, riveting, and haunting in equal measure as it lingers long after the credits roll — truly, one of this year’s most powerfu and unforgettable films.
4 Stars
