I saw A House of Dynamite just hours after hearing news that Putin was running missile drills to check Russia’s nuclear readiness, sending a clear message to his rivals that he has the biggest nuclear arsenal in the world. Knowing that makes watching this timely doomsday political thriller even more eerie. The film kicks off with a chilling statement that the time of ‘fewer nuclear weapons’ post-Cold War is ‘now over.’ Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Noah Oppenheim, the plot unfolds over what appears to be an ordinary day as military teams and government officials go about their business. Some already start the day stressed by personal matters, such as Major Gonzalez (Anthony Ramos) in Fort Greely, Alaska.

Told from three different angles, we start with Gonzalez’s team, who spot an unidentified intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from an unknown origin that’s initially believed to be a test. However, they soon come to the realization that it’s a genuine threat heading towards the continental US. They alert the White House Situation Room, where Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) and her superior, Admiral Miller (Jason Clarke) are working, and at this point, they have just 18 minutes before the missile hits Chicago. The nation’s nuclear readiness alert system, also known as defense readiness condition or “DEFCON,” rapidly escalates from level 4 (heightened) to DEFCON 1, which is reserved for imminent nuclear conflict.

Shot in almost real time, Bigelow really knows how to ramp up the tension that hardly eases up during its 112-minute runtime. Just imagine the panic when the two GBIs (Ground-Based Interceptors), a defense system designed to intercept and neutralize incoming attacks, fail to do their job. The level of chaos is off the charts, and as a viewer, I find myself scrambling to keep track of who’s who and all the military jargon being tossed around. A FEMA official is being evacuated, while a young Deputy National Security Advisor, Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso, yes, the same guy who once played VP JD Vance), is on the phone with the military base, while hurrying to reach the White House.

All the while, we never actually see POTUS (Idris Elba), but we do hear his voice over the phone as he receives intel from his team. Baerington advises the president against retaliation, while General Brady (Tracy Letts), with his quick-trigger mentality, pushes for the opposite approach to prevent any further assaults. This dilemma highlights one of the toughest challenges of leadership, where both action and inaction carry significant repercussions, not only for the nation but for the entire world.

Most of the events unfold indoors, within the confines of the situation room, military installations, and virtual meetings. However, a notable outdoor scene takes place during a reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, where an NSA specialist on North Korea, Ana Park (Greta Lee), attends with her son. It’s quite ironic to witness people’s enthusiasm to observe a simulated battle while a genuine war looms, one for which their leaders seem woefully unprepared. At one point, Baerington explains just how difficult a GBI strike is, akin to ‘hitting a bullet with a bullet’, where the success rate is only 50%. “Is that what 50 billion dollars buys us?” is perhaps the most telling quote, coming from Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris). Depressing stuff indeed.

The non-linear narrative can be somewhat perplexing at times, yet in retrospect, it serves as a powerful method to heighten the suspense. About halfway through, we hear a piercing scream over the speaker phone, crying out ‘no, no, no!’ in utter distress, but the details of what happened remain a mystery until the third act. The atmosphere is inherently quite somber and tense, but the edge-of-your-seat moments are blended with instances of humanity: Brady commenting about the baseball game the night before, Walker breaking down when she finds her toddler boy’s toy dinosaur in her pocket, and Baker calling his daughter, who lives in Chicago.

The performances in this ensemble piece are outstanding all around. Nearly everyone has their moment to shine. It’s fascinating to see European and Australian actors taking on significant roles in the US government. Elba appears to be the go-to choice for roles as world leaders, having recently played a British PM in the absurd comedy Heads of State. He only appears in the third act, being whisked away from a basketball event (which features WNBA star Angel Reese) to address this crisis. Elba conveys the immense pressure a world leader would feel when faced with such an irreversible decision. Yet the scene inside Air Force One, where his military aide (Jonah Hauer-King) hands him a “binder” of retaliation options, oddly lacks the tension one might expect, considering the serious implications of being near the ‘nuclear football’ that holds the nuclear codes.

A House of Dynamite serves as both unsettling and captivating entertainment. From the very first minute to the abrupt climax, I was completely absorbed. The set design looks authentic, and British DP Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker, Captain Phillips) employs a distinctive documentary style that infuses the film with a palpable sense of urgency. The ominous score by German composer Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet on the Western Front) evokes an appropriate sense of dread. Bigelow’s knack for creating intense suspense and her meticulous attention to detail make her one of the most formidable filmmakers working today.

The ambiguous ending is naturally divisive, yet I find it to be brilliant. It powerfully emphasizes the ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation, as the moment that the missile is fired towards Chicago, the house filled with dynamite that is our world today is primed to implode. Bigelow skillfully crafts a nightmare scenario that is even more terrifying than most horror films this Halloween season, due to its plausibility. I came across this NPR article discussing experts’ reviews of the film. Although there are some inaccuracies and obvious dramatization for cinematic effect, one aspect the movie captures accurately is that ‘…the world needs to be considering the potential of nuclear war. “… China, Russia, and the United States are expanding and upgrading their arsenals with new weapons and more of them.”

At the end of the day, the moral of the story is simple: Can and should humanity coexist with nuclear weapons at all? Regardless of how effective nuclear arms control may become, even in the best-case scenario, the potential for worldwide devastation surpasses its intended goal. A House of Dynamite offers us plenty of themes to ponder that I find difficult to ignore.

A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE is now streaming on Netflix.

Have you seen A House of Dynamite? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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