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In June, Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of atlanticpublished a self-written essay in the magazine, which he called “Nuclear Roulette”: “As a species, we are not particularly adept at Making time-pressured, closely reasoned decisions about matters of life and death.,” he wrote. Kathryn Bigelow’s riveting new thriller underscores the truth of her claim. The premise here is simple. A evil nuclear weapons moving rapidly towards chicagoIn a state of growing panic and distrust, US military and political leaders are desperately trying to stop it – and to respond appropriately to whoever started it. If they say it wrong, disaster ensues.
a house of dynamite This is a serious and timely warning about the new dangers of nuclear proliferation. However, another way of looking at it is the most entertaining Hollywood film ever made on the subject of potential mass destruction stanley kubrick’s Dr StrangeloveKubrick, unlike Bigelow doesn’t offer much humor – sarcastic or otherwise – but it’s a white knuckle ride of a film in which the tension builds to breaking point early on, and then keeps rising. German composer Volker Bertelmann’s ominous score, heavy on shrill strings, thrills the audience even more.
The filmmakers have clearly done their research. We are subject to a storm of acronyms and technical jargon: ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) and GBI (ground-based interceptor), etc. The action takes place in confined spaces and emergency operations centers. It’s a measure of Bigelow’s storytelling ability that a film consisting almost entirely of people talking still feels so mysterious.
The director pays full attention to body language. The closer the missile gets to the US mainland, the more defensive the posture of all adversaries becomes. Almost everyone folds their arms. The characters twirl their wedding rings. Officials and politicians constantly try and pull long faces. There are lots of close-ups of sweaty, anxiety-ridden Washington insiders. As viewers, we feel and share their discomfort.
Noah Oppenheim’s ingeniously structured screenplay retells the same events from different perspectives and in different locations. Idris Elba is not seen as the President of the United States in the first half of the film. Instead, she is heard on the other end of the phone as her nervous staff fills her in on her options.
The film briefly depicts the personal lives of some of the main characters. Senior officer Liv Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) has a sick child. Tracy Letts, as a Sterling Hayden-like military commander, can’t stop talking about last night’s ball game. Defense Secretary Jared Harris is briefly seen playing golf as he continues to worry about his daughter. The White House’s chief expert on North Korea (Greta Lee) is on a day trip with her son to re-enact the Battle of Gettysburg.
At first, there is disbelief when the alarm sirens go off. Even when they acknowledge that there is indeed an emergency, officials still expect the military to sort it out. Surely with all the American hardware and know-how, they could disarm the nukes? Then there is that terrible sinking feeling, because none of the defense mechanisms do their job.
Inevitably, gallows humor soon creeps in, whether intentionally or not, simply because the situation is so extreme and so absurd. A few lines here – “There is no plan B”; “In little more than seven minutes, we will lose the city of Chicago” – this could have come straight from the worst disaster movies. “This is madness,” someone yells late in the film. “No, this is reality,” comes the reply.
Seventeen years ago, Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director hurt locker (2008). whether or not she achieves similar feats a house of dynamite – Became the first woman to win Two – This new feature shows that when it comes to intelligent, adrenaline-filled drama, he’s still on his own.
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Director: Kathryn Bigelow. Starring: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, Jason Clarke. Certificate 15, 112 minutes
‘A House of Dynamite’ will stream on Netflix from October 24