Shadows on the Wall | A House of Dynamite

A House of Dynamite

dir Kathryn Bigelow
scr Noah Oppenheim
prd Kathryn Bigelow, Noah Oppenheim, Greg Shapiro
with Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Jonah Hauer-King, Greta Lee, Jason Clark, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Kaitlyn Dever
release UK 3.Oct.25,
US 10.Oct.25
25/US Netflix 1h52

VENICE FILM FEST

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Taking a documentary approach, this thriller boldly covers less than 20 minutes in real time by shifting perspectives. Journalist Noah Oppenheim's script is exploring how the nuclear option involves many experts, but the decision to press the button, as it were, comes down to one person in a moment of huge pressure. Kathryn Bigelow directs this beautifully, keeping a range of characters in focus as the unthinkable unfolds.

At an Alaska military base, Daniel (Ramos) must launch interceptors when an incoming nuclear missile appears on the radar. Where it came from is unknown, and tracking reveals that it's headed for Chicago. But firing at it is like shooting a bullet to stop another bullet. Meanwhile, White House Situation Room leader Olivia (Ferguson) is trying to assemble the bigger picture, so the President (Elba) can decide whether to make retaliatory strikes or wait to see what happens. NSA advisor Jake (Basso) speaks to the Russians, who claim they have nothing to do with this.

Also reacting to these events are the worried Secretary of Defense (Harris) in the Pentagon and the alert general (Letts) in command of the nuclear bunker in Nebraska. There's also a young officer (Hauer-King) accompanying the President as he returns to the White House, a security advisor (Lee) attending a Gettysburg re-enactment, a crew of bomber pilots called to action and the First Lady (Goldsberry) on a diplomatic trip to Kenya.

Every person buzzing through these scenes has his or her own specific reaction to what is unfolding, and they don't have much time to think. This gives the performances a remarkably offhanded sense of urgency, as these people consider the very real ramifications while naturally being preoccupied about the whereabouts of family members. Each actor is startlingly authentic. Standouts in this first-rate ensemble are Elba and Hauer-King, whose scenes together are layered and riveting.

Restarting the action twice after blackouts undermines the narrative intensity, but things ratchet up again quickly with the emergence of further details and new points of view. Because everything about this film has been exhaustively researched, it has an unusual kick of realism, as Barry Ackroyd's clear-eyed cameras take us into top secret spaces to see the intelligent and very real people who are tasked with responding to a potentially earth-shattering situation. In other words, it isn't important who's to blame or what will happen: the point is how this makes us feel about the state of humanity.

themes, language 5.Oct.25

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