A House of Dynamite

Kathryn Bigelow and Noah Oppenheim's political thriller about how several different U.S. government and military officials respond when an unknown adversary launches a nuclear missile plays like a contemporary version of Sidney Lumet and Walter Bernstein's 1964 Cold War thriller Fail-Safe,. Instead of keeping the proceedings contained within the specific operational spaces, it's opened up; rather than showcasing theatrical performances, it goes for intimate acting; and in place of stark, deep focus, black & white, close-up photography, everything is shot in that handheld, indeterminate zoom length style that is supposed to feel like documentary realism. This is not to say that one approach is better than the other; they are just both very much of their time. But Fail-Safe works a whole lot better as a narrative because it builds to a genuine climax, whereas the unquestionably suspenseful and well-acted A House of Dynamite de-escalates its drama to such an extent in the final act that we almost don't care how it ends, which is kind of astonishing.