Kathryn Bigelow excels at imparting messages wrapped in exquisitely directed and acted dramas. A House of Dynamite wrestles with one of the toughest challenges faced by twenty-first century creators: how to convey the prospect of nuclear Armageddon to a world seemingly inured to the risks we face. And to thrill the viewers at the same time! She succeeds triumphantly, with the tale of an ordinary day in America, shattered by the appearance from nowhere of a single missile seemingly headed into the heart of the nation. The decision becomes one of deciding whether to preemptively strike at an enemy (but which enemy?), whether to escalate or de-escalate, all decisions needed within a stringent, short time period. All the multiple scenes across the gamut of the US nuclear weapons complex, from remote missile watching posts, to war rooms, to missile bunkers, to a presidential limousine, are filmed and directed as if one is viewing a documentary, and the superb cast of actors (highlights for me were Gabriel Basso as a minor adviser, Idris Elba as POTUS ), mean that the drumming tension quickly becomes unbearable. A concentric narrative strategy, as effective as it is ingenious, underpins a wonderful script from Noah Oppenheim. Stark cinematography, an ominous soundtrack, seemingly accurate settings … these are just the icing on the cake of A House of Dynamite, the one movie recommended for every human on earth to watch in 2025 (not 2026).
Book, movie/show, and album reviews
