American Rashomon

 

“American Rashomon”

A Review of A House of Dynamite by Nick Olszyk

 

Distribution Service: Netflix

MPAA Rating, R

OSV Rating, Not rated at the time of this review

Reel Rating, Three and a Half Reels                   

 

            Since her Oscar win for Best Director in 2009 for The Hurt Locker, Katheryn Bigalow has established herself as one of the best political thriller filmmakers in history. In A House of Dynamite, she turns her attention to the nuclear arms race, a subject that hasn’t seen a great deal of coverage since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. She reminds us that this forgotten phenomenon is still a present reality, one that could manifest at any moment.

            Early one ordinary day, a missile is launched somewhere in the North Pacific Ocean. Rather than quickly falling back to Earth, like North Korea’s many test rockets, it goes sub orbital with a trajectory to land in Chicago in nineteen minutes. Immediately, various political and military forces scramble to deal with the situation. The story of the next time frame is told in three movements offering countering perspectives, like Akirosawa’s Rashomon, each adding a piece to the puzzle. The first section (Inclination is Flattening) focuses on Capt. Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) in the White House Situation Room as she brings together the various important people on a glorified Zoom call to make decisive action. They first decided to counter with an ICBM to take out the possible nuclear weapon. The second narrative (Hitting a Bullet with a Bullet) is led by General Brady (Tracy Letts) from STRATCOM who watches in dismay as the ICBM fails to make impact. He then advises the President and Secretary of Defense to make a nuclear strike of our own. The last viewpoint (A House Filled with Dynamite) is from the president himself, who is doing a meet and greet with a youth basketball team when he is ushered out to decide the fate of the world.

            There are few directors who can match Bigalow’s sense of tension and pacing; this is a top-notch thriller that always keeps the audience on the edge of its seat, made more impressive in that the 2^nd and 3^rd time around the audience knows basically what will happen. Yet, like many government investigations, not everything comes to an easy end. There’s a subplot with a FEMA official that goes nowhere. In the fog of war, matters are muddled. Despite some narrative difficulties, including the infamous end which I will not spoil, the acting, writing, and directing are all fantastic. You might leave frustrated but not unentertained.

            Nearly every official in this story puts his trust in the protocol. They grab binders, flip pages, ask safe questions, and do the next prescribed step. This is supposed to work, and when it doesn’t, everyone is left bewildered. “We did everything right!” one military operator yells as he throws things off his desk. “A coin toss!” the Defense Secretary yells when he sees the bad odds against shooting the nuke down, “that’s what fifty billion dollars buys us?!” Hanlon’s razor states that we should “never attribute to malice what is explained by incompetency.” These are neither malicious nor stupid people, but they do put an undue faith in man’s ability to quickly resolve any situation positively.

            No one, with one small exception, puts his faith in God. No one prays or asks the Lord for guidance despite His omnipotent nature. One could argue that in such a situation there isn’t time, yet several characters find time to call loved ones or even arrange evacuation from Chicago. Also, prayer can only be a few seconds or just a thought. This is why it is important to orient one’s days in prayer first thing in the morning, putting yourself in His grace no matter what occurs in the day.

            Everyone makes decisions with limited information, but it’s important to avoid acting rashly. General Brady advises launching nuclear weapons in retaliation before the missile even hits or before the enemy is determined. What happens if the missile is a dud or even non-existent? Fortunately, as a counter to both malice and incompetency, we can rely on God’s providence. A perfect example is Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet radar operator who ignored an ICBM alarm which should have triggered an automatic nuclear response. It turned out to be a false positive. Jimmy Akin has also pointed out some interesting parallels between a prevented nuclear war and the Marian apparition in Fatima. We have the promise the God will never destroy the world again, although conflicts will always exist.

            Both global leaders and ordinary people should use wisdom to make rational decisions, but there is so much beyond our control. A House of Dynamite correctly displays how, despite our best efforts, things can go horribly awry and even millions could suffer. However, we should always remember that we are always “in the loving presence of God.” We should turn to him in all our needs, not just when all hope seems lost. Then we can face courageously whatever happens.