A House of Dynamite

 

      If you like your movies linear with a definitive beginning, middle and end, this new film is NOT for you. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who is a master with this kind of material and written by Noah Oppenheim, the film is a doomsday scenario played out with multiple perspectives.

     When a nuclear warhead is launched by an unknown entity and is discovered heading into United States airspace, the military and government leaders must make crucial decisions within twenty minutes. The film is presented with three different perspectives with overlapping dialog. Characters in the first section may only be heard as voices and then revealed in the second and third section and vice versa.

      Once the rogue missile is detected, we see officials spring into action for almost twenty minutes and then the film momentarily goes black and resets twenty minutes to replay the action from the perspective of different characters and then resets again in the final third of the film.

       The film stars Idris Elba as POTUS (the President of the United States), who's voice we hear early on but only see him in the last third of the film. Also starring are Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Geta Lee, Jason Clarke, Gbenga Akinnagbe with cameos from Kaitlyn Dever and Renee Elise Goldsberry. Everyone is excellent in their realistic roles but to this critic, the standout is Jared Harris as the Secretary of Defense.

        Ms. Bigelow rachets up the tension with each perspective as the no-win situation plays out with the final, ultimate decision squarely in the hands of the President. Many viewers may not like the ending but if you watch the credits, you may get a definitive clue as to how the film finally ends.

          Apparently Mr. Oppenheim and Ms. Bigelow did deep research as to how this scenario would really play out and the film represents a very scary, realistic view of  "what could happen".  The title refers to our planet as the "house" and all the nations with nuclear weapons as the "dynamite". 

          The film is this generation's "Fail Safe", released in 1964 during the "Cold War". It was and still is, a chilling drama about the possible consequences of nuclear war.