Primarily a procedural film, A House of Dynamite examines the workings of our government in the event of a nuclear war. Written by Noah Oppenheim and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the film takes its audience into a highly realistic process of how our government would deal with a nuclear weapon attack on our country. The film features strong performances by its entire cast. It does an admirable job of presenting various facets of our government at work in attempting to deal with what is potentially a catastrophic situation.
The film begins with a military unit discovering that a nuclear missile has been launched and seems to be headed towards the United States. The film then breaks down into the various facets of our government dealing with this problem. It presents the military response, along with the reactions of government employees and the politicians in charge of making major decisions. What results is a frightening, realistic, and character-driven portrayal of a disturbing scenario where even the best decisions ultimately prove to be horrible.
Oppenheim and Bigelow have adopted an approach to this scenario that is repetitive in nature but largely effective due to this choice. It is utterly fascinating and scary to witness the people in charge of these life-changing decisions at work. Bigelow and Oppenheim do an exceptional job of building tension and fueling the gravity of this harrowing situation. The entire cast is firing on all cylinders, but among the ensemble cast, Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Jared Hess, and Anthony Ramos are the true standouts. There is so much happening in this movie that it’s impossible to acknowledge all the names, but there is no weak link within the entire cast.
A House of Dynamite is definitely a reality check on the possibility that we could be endangering our lives and the future of our planet by having nuclear weaponry at our fingertips. Although this sounds like material from the 1980s, it remains relevant today, as these weapons still exist and are available to those in power. Once the threat becomes all too real, it will be too late to take action.