Kathryn Bigelow has bravely revisited a topic we often prefer to avoid—nuclear war. This subject strains our narratives and challenges our imagination, which is perhaps why we usually approach it with humor or satire, recalling Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant black comedy, Dr. Strangelove, rather than Sidney Lumet’s somber Fail Safe.
In her film A House of Dynamite, co-written with Noah Oppenheim, Bigelow presents a chilling thought: a nuclear conflict could erupt without anyone knowing the cause or knowing how to stop it.
The narrative unfolds in a gripping 18-minute sequence, revisited from multiple perspectives and locations. This timeframe represents the estimated duration between military reports of an unexpected nuclear launch from the Pacific and its potential arrival in Chicago.
The tension rises in various command centers, filled with military and civilian personnel. They are glued to screens that signal the threat level, moving from Defcon 2 to Defcon 1. Maps display the missile’s trajectory, alternating with chaotic video calls featuring tense officials scrambling for solutions while navigating the crisis from their smartphones.
Rebecca Ferguson stars as Capt. Olivia Walker, an intelligence analyst, while Tracy Letts plays Gen. Anthony Brady, a military leader pushing for an immediate counterstrike. Jared Harris portrays defense secretary Reid Baker, who realizes that his estranged daughter is in Chicago as the crisis unfolds, and Gabriel Basso takes on the role of Jake Baerington, a young NSA adviser who seems poised to save the day, à la an Aaron Sorkin hero.
Jonah Hauer-King plays Lt. Cmdr. Robert Reeves, the naval officer who accompanies the President, armed with a folder containing nuclear strike options and authorization codes. Idris Elba portrays the President himself, who learns of the missile threat while casually playing basketball with students.
As White House officials scramble to intercept the missile, they grapple with the grim choice of whether to retaliate and risk igniting World War III or allowing an American city to be sacrificed, all while uncertain if the launch stems from North Korea or another nuclear power driven by desperate fanaticism. This unpredictability fuels the film’s assertion that a new kind of warfare could emerge.
Bigelow’s film encapsulates familiar archetypes from nuclear disaster narratives: weary, grey-haired officials who had long feared this moment; dedicated young staff doing everything they can to fix the situation; and unthinking young pilots ready to deliver the ultimate strike, all beneath the watchful portraits of iconic leaders like Ike and Lincoln.
The film cleverly highlights moments steeped in irony—the urgent missile alerts juxtaposed with mundane headlines about rising rental prices, evoking a sense of normalcy that now feels lost.
