A review of the film “A House Of Dynamite”
Kathryn Bigelow is a rarity among American directors, a woman who makes compelling movies with a military theme. I was enormously impressed by “The Hurt Locker” (2008) and “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012). Here, she works with scriptwriter Noah Oppenheim and sound designer Paul NJ Ottosson to present to us a gripping insight into a nightmare scenario: an intercontinental ballistic missile has been launched at the United States; nobody knows who is behind this or why they have launched such a surprise attack; but the American administration has just 19 minutes to decide how to respond.
The film has a novel narrative structure: a triptych in which the same set-up, with much of the same dialogue and characters, is presented from three points of view, each in a different principal location with a different main character. So, we are in the White House Operations Room with Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson); then in the office of the Secretary of State for Defense (Jared Harris); and finally, in a helicopter with the US President (Idris Elba).
“A House Of Dynamite” has been criticised for its repetitive structure, but the approach serves to emphasise the complexity of the issues and the decision-making process. Many are also unhappy with the sudden and unresolved ending, but this is not a story with a conclusion but a question to be considered: would we really use strategic nuclear weapons?
The film was funded by Netflix, so most viewers will see it on television and struggle with catching all the dialogue. I managed to view it on the big screen and fortuitously it was a version with sub-titles (even then, technical terms and acronyms abound). So the work is only a partial success, but a worthy and effective attempt to remind us that the Cold War may be over but the nuclear threat remains.