Kathryn Bigelow’s first film in nearly a decade arrives at a precarious time. A House of Dynamite is a two-hour film about 19 perilous, uncertain minutes when a missile with no known point of origin launches and is set to land in an American city, ostensibly killing millions of citizens. The film shifts between different perspectives on the situation from various leadership pockets within the American government and military. 

 

A House of Dynamite is the apocalypse film without the apocalypse. By the end of the film, we are all but certain that annihilation and warfare are imminent. However, that destruction is not the heart of Bigelow’s film. I mention that the timing of this film is of importance; the United States is already deeply divided, while also being involved in the management of various conflicts and political turbulence worldwide. This film sidesteps overt political parrying and prioritizes the strategy and teamwork of crisis communication and response.

 

No country comes forward and claims the missile hurtling toward America as its own. China, Russia, and North Korea (the likely suspects) are all capable of taking on the responsibility. However, they insist that not only can the missile not be attributed to themselves, but that preemptive defensive posturing from the United States is their only sensible course of action.

 

This thriller works most convincingly with its, dare I say, dynamite cast of characters. We spend time with each of them, little by little, and no player receives top billing or screen time. The President of the United States (Idris Elba) does not even appear on screen for the first hour of the film. His perspective on the events is the last of three “chapters” of the story. The first involves an Army Officer (Anthony Ramos) charged with missile defense from an Alaskan military base, and Rebecca Ferguson as a steward of the White House situation room. 

 

Each character is an important piece of the crisis puzzle. They have trained for this. They have prepared for this. However, as some Situation Room employees note, they cannot remember a time when the danger level reached DEFCON 1. The revolving perspectives of the same conversations and exchanges give credence to a real-world disaster and its handling in real time. Bigelow’s direction and the script from Noah Oppenheim underscore the applicability of well-laid plans and their utter futility when everything dissolves into chaos and miscommunication. 

 

The script’s penchant for jumping from different characters does come off as trite in moments. However, it does a wonderful service of showing not only the top players and decision makers but also the common citizens, employees, and children. This added shade of storytelling separates A House of Dynamite from other disaster flicks, which only focus on the movie stars calling the shots and take a moment to render respect to the grander impact of danger. 

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What will the U.S. do in retaliation? Who will be impacted? What are the next steps? These questions are asked, but the film holds no answers. I suppose that ambiguity may polarize some audience members. A House of Dynamite is not interested in exploring what comes next. This film makes you live in the moment, over and over.