Effectively an update of the Cold War thriller Fail Safe (with a few major differences), director Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite is a single story told from three interconnected perspectives concerning the launch of a nuclear missile from an unknown location somewhere on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, aimed at the United States. The film is meant to feel genuinely, nerve-wrackingly terrifying, and free from politics (for the most part). In many ways, it’s the perfect representation of what Bigelow has always done in such works as Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker, and Strange Days—she wants to capture that perfect intersection between genuine human reaction and government professionalism. If anything, the film feels dated because I’m not sure anyone in power right now would react this thoughtfully in such a crisis.
As soon as the White House War Room figures out that the threat is real, the rush for information and decision becomes twofold: they must determine who is responsible, and then how to respond. Is it the Russians, the Chinese, the North Koreans, some rogue terrorist organization? Is the launch an accident or a deliberate attempt to see how or if the U.S. will even respond? We enter into this initial POV through the eyes of Capt. Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) and her boss, Admiral Mark Miller (Jason Clarke), who lead a team of experts and attempt to run counter measures to knock the missile out of the sky (I won’t reveal what city the missile is targeting because it’s almost too perfect if you don’t know). We meet members of the military leadership and Joint Chiefs of Staff on video screens, so we catch glimpses of folks like Tracy Letts, Jared Harris (as the Secretary of "Defense"…that’ll have to be updated), Gabriel Basso (as the deputy NSA advisor, filling in for his absentee boss). Even the president (or at least his voice) pops in during this segment, and anyone with a working pair of ears should be able to identify the actor playing him. There is discussion and debate about a response as well as how many millions will be killed and impacted by this strike.
The tension rises quickly, and a certain amount of panic sets in, and just when the missile is about the hit, Bigelow goes back to the beginning of this event and switches perspective. It’s jarring, it takes the wind right out of your lungs, and it’s highly effective as we watch the events unfold from the perspective of Basso’s character, as he runs to his office while giving advice and recommendations about an appropriate response. From a screenplay by Noah Oppenheim (Jackie, The Maze Runner), A House of Dynamite reveals new characters with each of its segments, while also giving us more details about the actions and thoughts of ones we briefly met earlier. The stacked cast includes Anthony Ramos, Kaitlyn Dever, Renee Elise Goldsberry (as the First Lady), Greta Lee, and Moses Ingram, among others.
Not surprisingly, after keeping his face hidden for the first two segments, the President himself is the centerpiece of the final segment, and we get a real sense of the pressure, guidance, and options he has to consider before making a decision. The unsung hero of this film is editor Kirk Baxter (David Fincher’s go-to cutter for years), who makes it possible to follow the paths of dozens of characters across three timelines but also knows when to settle into one perspective for a bit longer because that person’s time on screen is essential to the story.
When I was a kid growing up in the 1980s, I used to have nightmares about nuclear wars, and we don’t spend a lot of time these days thinking about the possibility of them happening, either intentionally or not. I’m happy to report that A House of Dynamite is the perfect film upon which nightmares can and will be built. Despite its calculated approach and attempts at cooler heads prevailing, it also offers up a lot of talk about around who gets to evacuate to a bunker and who doesn’t, as well as the real possibility that retaliation would lead to global destruction. Then there’s also the possibility that the missile is a dud and won’t actually detonate at all. The unknowns outnumber the knowns in this scenario, and that makes things so much worse. The film is essential viewing, in my estimation, but only if you have the nerves and stomach for it. You also have to brace yourself for the very real possibility that you won’t get the ending you want—that might be the biggest gut punch the film delivers.
The film is now in select theaters, and will be available on Netflix October 24.
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