A movie like A House of Dynamite feels like the first part of a two-part miniseries that would’ve aired during the Cold War era. And that might find so many people frustrated by what all happens. Or shall I say what doesn’t happen.
The events take place over many hours on what starts out as just another normal Friday. One thing people have noted about the early morning hours of Sept. 11, 2001 was how normal it seemed. It was just going to be another sunny warm day.
We follow characters including the President of the United State (Idris Elba), Army personnel at Fort Greely, Alaska, as well as those in the White House Situation Room. Yet, all this bouncing around doesn’t have the chaotic tension that’s needed.
Granted, Kathryn Bigelow has always been a director who plays by a different set of rules than the boys club. Dynamite focuses on the fact that even the most trained and skilled people in government can still tense up and even get very scared over what might happen next. Ever since the 1950s, there has been the threat of nuclear war. Billions if not trillions of dollars have been spent to ensure America is prepared for any scenario.
Yet, what we see in Dynamite, is a day we never thought would come. It’s like when a loved one dies. You know one day it is going to happen. You just wish it wasn’t today. Capt. Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) even comments to her husband about it being casual Fridays before she leaves. She’s the duty officer at the Situation Room.
The plot involves all these government and military officials having to deal with the prospects that an unidentified adversary has fired one intercontinental ballistic missile toward the Chicago area. There’s even talk that it might be a computer glitch. Could it be the Russians?
Bigelow assembles a great cast of actors. Tracy Letts plays Gen. Anthony Brady, the combatant commander of the U.S. Stragetic Command, who knows a split second hesitation can costs millions of lives. Jared Harris plays Reid Baker, secretary of defense, whose daughter played by Kaitlyn Dever, lives in Chicago. And you get the sense that they’re estranged but there’s a happiness as he calls her to hear she’s in a relationship.
It’s the little things that make this movie feel more than a standard thriller. Walker is given a little toy by her sick child to take with her to work. Maj. Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos), commander at Fort Greely, is dealing with a relationship issue as he comes in to start his shift which already makes him on edge. But it becomes obvious when Secret Service agents wearing bulletproof vests and machine guns in their hands are walking very briskly with a government official to another location. How long will the public know the shit is about to hit the fan?
The President is in Chicago himself meeting with WNBA player Angel Reese when he is quickly removed from a photo op. But the clock is ticking and there’s no way they can evacuate one of the most populous cities in the country.
Not to give too much away, but the script by Noah Oppenheim, leaves the ending ambiguous as to what happens next. And this is why Bigelow is a different director. She asks us to really ponder the question if we knew a ICBM was being fired toward a major city and millions were about to die, would we want to know about it beforehand?
TV crews had live feed of the World Trade Center when the second plane hit the other tower. It was just dumb luck. But imagine if we knew the second plane was about to hit and the clock was ticking. How woud we have responded?
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 