Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris know politics when they see them here.
“The Brink of War” is the latest political Angel Studios entry this summer after the awful animated version of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” and the well-meaning, but less patriotic “Young Washington.” This one takes place near the end of the Cold War, where Jeff Daniels plays President Ronald Reagan and Jared Harris is the Soviet Union’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, both of whom were part of the Reykjavik Summit, which determined whether there can be peace or war. The opening credits reminds us that both the United States and Soviet Union have 70,000 nuclear missies aimed at each other. And while Reagan is planning a missile shield (the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI for short), the soviet military plans to attack before it can be completed. It all came down to this.
This comes at a time when the Iran War is taking place-when recently the US military successfully intercepted a surprised ballistic missile attack on American forces in the Middle East and when Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are both in discussion. We all know the Cold War came to end, and we know that the Iran War will come to end as well. But then again, history has a way of repeating itself. Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s take our minds off that with my review of “The Brink of War.”
As the summit continues, Reagan and Gorbachev so far agree that in ten years, all nuclear weapons should be gone. But the Soviet Union wants the POTUS to give up on the SDI.
Among the supporting cast, JK Simmons plays George Schultz, the US Secretary of State, who thought Reagan should have quit while he was ahead of the summit. And Hope Davis is Reagan’s wife Nancy who calls him every night to make sure he is okay.
It can be corny at times when Raegan calls the Höfði venue a “haunted house,” while American and Russian employees bicker like grade school children on the sidelines, and two journalists (Guy Burnet and Aya Cash) share some chemistry but no character development. But outside whatever movie formula “The Brink of War” tries to throw at us, it still has the right performances to resurrect these political figures from different parts of the world. Kudos to Daniels and Harris easing into their roles without trying too hard to impersonate them.
I came across an Instagram post by film critic Richard Roeper, who was commenting about the liberals being mad that the liberal actor Daniels is portraying Raegan, and the conservatives concerned that the movie would glorify the actor-turned-40th POTUS. And those haters haven’t seen this movie yet. I can’t speak for any political party (I’m sorry, I just can’t), but I can acknowledge that movies, religion, and politics are all part of system that divides people based on their opinions. Part of being a film critic is to have an opinion on a movie or show. I wanted to be part of this, and I’m willing to face whatever happens on my end.
But without getting too political, “The Brink of War” is not a movie Oliver Stone or Christopher Nolan would make, but it is a worthy film that resonates with both the past and present. Nuclear treats and peace treaties-they both keep coming and yet, most of us are still alive today. In a way, I like to think this dramatization is relaxing enough to keep us occupied in a theater from the outside world. And Daniels and Harris both make it easy for us to handle.
