A House of Dynamite

by Mike McGranaghan

In November of 1983, the ABC television network aired a movie called The Day After that imagined what it would be like if nuclear bombs struck the United States. It had the effect of scaring the hell out of the American public. I can imagine A House of Dynamite having a similar effect on those who watch it. Kathryn Bigelow, the Oscar-winning director of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, teams up with writer Noah Oppenheim (Jackie) to envision a nuclear drama from the perspective of the government and military officials who see disaster coming.

The premise is that one missile is launched in the direction of the U.S. Nobody knows which country launched it, but there is every indication that it will hit Chicago, killing upwards of 10 million people. The first section is told from the POV of Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) as she and her team in the White House Situation Room realize what’s occurring. Section two follows General Anthony Brady (Tracy Letts), a senior military official in the United States Strategic Command, who attempts to determine what an appropriate response should be to the mysterious missile. In the final section, the President (Idris Elba) feels the pressure to decide who the U.S. should launch a counterstrike against and at what level of destruction.

A range of outstanding supporting actors rounds out the cast, including Jared Harris as the Secretary of Defense, Gabriel Basso as the Deputy National Security Advisor, Greta Lee as an NSA intelligence officer, Anthony Ramos as the commander at an American launch site, and Jason Clarke as a high-ranking Admiral.

What Bigelow does skillfully in this film – and several of her previous ones – is create a sense of immediacy. By coordinating authentic production design, fast-paced editing, and urgent performances, she places you in the rooms where events are happening. If not for the presence of recognizable stars, you might reasonably assume A House of Dynamite was a documentary. The film has that propulsive quality that drowns out the rest of the world and keeps your attention fixed on the screen.

That’s where the nail-biting factor comes in. Being forced to contemplate a nuclear strike is anxiety-producing on its own; add in the characters trying to hold themselves together or make contact with unaware loved ones and the tension becomes even greater. There’s a specific moment where Walker sucks back tears as she works to assess the significance of the situation that I found gut-wrenching. (Ferguson is typically great.) Cumulatively, these things create a harrowing two hours for the viewer. It all unfolds with such realism that you don’t merely watch the movie, you’re psychologically impacted by it.

The only real bummer is the ending, which comes on a bit abruptly. You can understand what the finale means if you’ve been paying attention, but it definitely fizzles out with the final shot. A House of Dynamite is otherwise a top-notch thriller that will leave you feeling terrified that something like this could actually happen.

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