Kathryn Bigelow’s highly anticipated and long-awaited next film has finally arrived via Netflix. It’s “A House of Dynamite” and is Bigelow’s first feature film since his 2017 historical crime drama “Detroit.” It’s another bold swing from the Oscar-winning director who delivers a heartbreaking and biting script, imbued with a sobering sense of urgency. It’s one of the best films of the year.
“A House of Dynamite” is a gripping thriller that can also serve as a pressing wake-up call about the ever-present danger of living in this new nuclear age. Written for the screen by Noah Oppenheim, the story unfolds as a hardcore military/political procedural laced with 1990s thriller vibes. But it’s Bigelow’s gripping efficiency and razor-sharp precision that keeps the film’s engine humming. She maintains such control over the many moving parts of the story while keeping her audience firmly in her grip for the duration.
Bigelow is aided by an all-star ensemble that completes this three-part story. The narrative structure follows an important event but tells it from three distinct but interconnected perspectives. It starts at the 49th Missile Defense Battalion at Fort Greely, Alaska. Major Daniel Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos) and his unit recover an unidentified ballistic missile from the air. At first they think it’s a test. But since they failed to detect the point of origin of the launch, they are not sure.
Fort Greely briefs the White House Situation Room in Washington DC where Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) and her team monitor potential threats to the country. Experts soon inform Walker that the missile is not a test and is only 19 minutes away from hitting the continental United States. Multiple agencies spring into action, working to intercept the missile while reducing its impact area. As the countdown ticks down, fear and anxiety set in.
We then travel back in time to when the missile was first detected, but focus on Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts) heads U.S. strategic command and control. Brady’s team is able to determine that the missile’s target is Chicago and its 9.2 million residents. With a nuclear attack seemingly imminent, Brady pushes for the president to immediately consider a counterattack. But Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso) disagrees, insisting they get more information before plunging the world into nuclear war.
The film takes us back once again, this time focusing on the President of the United States (played by an impressive Idris Elba). We follow him as he learns of the incoming missile and work under immense pressure to decide the best course of action. Does he follow Brady’s recommendation and strike back before their window closes? Or does he listen to Baerington and wait, despite the dangers of doing so?
The cast is full of other supporting players who have their own roles in the story. Jason Clarke plays the senior situation room officer and Walker’s boss. Greta Lee plays an NSA intelligence agent. Moses Ingram plays a FEMA official. Jared Harris plays the Secretary of Defense. Renée Elise Goldsberry plays the First Lady. Jonah Hauer-King plays the president’s retaliation advisor. These are just a few of the characters serving as key elements of the story, providing vital information that advances the plot or adds necessary humanity to the chaos.
“A House of Dynamite” wastes no time lighting its fuse, and it burns steadily until the film’s gutsy finale. It’s almost certain that some viewers will be upset about where Bigelow pulls the plug. But I can’t imagine a more effective ending for the kind of impression it wants to leave. The palpable fear, the unsettling uncertainty, the sobering relevance to the real world – it all hits like a sledgehammer in the film’s final shots that Bigelow lands exactly as intended.
With “A House of Dynamite,” Bigelow reminds us how close we are to annihilation and how helpless we would be once those dominoes start falling. At the same time, his film keeps its human pulse, never losing sight of the personal issues of many of those involved. The point-of-view shifts work surprisingly well within the ticking clock formula, thanks in large part to Bigelow’s laser-focused execution. The urgency is underscored in Barry Ackroyd’s documentary-style cinematography while the tone resonates through the eerie wail of Volker Bertelmann’s score. It all creates a tension-fueled film that offers a prescient warning for our current times. “A House of Dynamite” premieres October 24 on Netflix.
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