The Brink of War Review: Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris Lock Horns in Talky Cold War Drama

The Brink of War is present playing successful theaters.

Writer-director Michael Russell Gunn’s well-meaning diagnostic movie debut, The Brink of War, takes a wordy, world attack to chronicling the 2 momentous days successful October 1986 erstwhile US President Ronald Reagan (Jeff Daniels) and Soviet person Mikhail Gorbachev (Jared Harris) sat crossed a array successful a location successful Reykjavik, Iceland hoping to onslaught a landmark atomic disarmament woody designed to support the Cold War from yet turning into a blistery one. (Impressively, the movie was changeable astatine the existent determination and successful the aforesaid rooms wherever the leaders spoke.)

As thoughtful and earnest arsenic the play is, it’s besides beauteous chill for a movie astir trying to forestall atomic war. The events whitethorn instrumentality spot astatine the highest of the Cold War, and the movie reiterates that this gathering is the past accidental for specified a woody to happen, but The Brink of War lacks the urgency that immoderate movie about, say, the Cuban Missile Crisis (e.g., Thirteen Days) possesses, wherever the spectator genuinely feels the planetary stakes and aggravated unit the President is under.

The Brink of War is precise stagebound, often feeling similar a play adapted for the screen, but it is conscionable arsenic reminiscent of those solid, actor-driven HBO films of the 1990s that dutifully covered biographical oregon then-topical subjects. (Angel Studios’ different caller Presidential pic, Young Washington, astatine slightest offered cinemagoers immoderate flintlock-firin’, tomahawk-throwin’ enactment scenes to support it from feeling similar TV movie fare.) Still, if this was made arsenic an HBO movie successful the ‘90s, it astir apt would’ve won an Emmy oregon two.

The Brink of War is astir live whenever Reagan and Gorbachev are negotiating 1 connected one, challenging each other’s positions and calling retired each country’s hypocrisies. Things get heated betwixt them — arsenic issues ranging from quality rights, religion, and the US’s Strategic Defense Initiative are raised — with each person lasting their governmental and philosophical ground. These are 2 men trying to find a mode to link with 1 another, each knowing this is their accidental to marque past and execute thing large and lasting. But they each person their just stock of pride, stubbornness and mistrust.

Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris solidly grip the worldly arsenic if they were onstage unneurotic successful a two-hander, their characters each probing the different for weakness oregon advantage. Daniels doesn’t rather seizure the specificities of Reagan’s dependable and mannerisms, but helium ably conveys the 40th President’s convictions.

The closest the movie comes to trying to get to research Reagan arsenic a quality being is seeing him inactive troubled, physically and mentally, from an assassination effort a fewer years earlier. While not outright hagiography, The Brink of War is not retired to overgarment the Gipper successful a captious light. This movie is pro-American values adjacent as, successful the moments wherever Gorbachev goes disconnected connected Reagan, it acknowledges the US’s flaws.

Harris is adjacent amended arsenic Gorbachev, his standout country being wherever helium castigates the US argumentation that prevents farming and cow-milking instrumentality to beryllium sold to the Soviet Union truthful they could provender their children. This Gorbachev isn’t pro-West but helium understands the USSR needs to change. He hopes this atomic woody — a risky, astir fantastical proposition for either ruler to effort to merchantability to assorted factions backmost location — volition springiness him the governmental superior needed to mold the USSR successful his imaginativeness adjacent arsenic helium suspects his ain KGB is spying connected him astatine this event.

The film’s astir palmy and amusing subplot involves the gamesmanship betwixt First Lady Nancy Reagan (Hope Davis) and Raisa Gorbacheva (standout Branka Katić). Nancy didn’t spell to Iceland but Raisa did, and she uses the property to propulsion shadiness astatine her US counterpart. What results is simply a passive-aggressive proxy warfare wherever each savvily uses the media to sound the other. It’s each precise deliciously petty.

This subplot, however, besides involves a kinda sorta ongoing flirtation betwixt 2 reporters (Aya Cash and Guy Burnet) that doesn’t truly spell anyplace and near maine wanting the movie to get backmost to the much pressing matters astatine hand.

Able enactment is provided passim by J.K. Simmons arsenic US Secretary of State George Schultz, to whom the movie is dedicated. At this point, the Oscar victor tin play Badass Bald Man successful Charge successful his sleep, but helium nevertheless provides Daniels’ Reagan with idiosyncratic other to unfastened up to too Nancy. The extremity of The Brink of War, though, doesn’t assistance marque it not consciousness similar a filmed play by abruptly having Schultz interruption the 4th partition to explicate the result of the acme conscionable arsenic a quality mightiness connected stage.

Forty years later, it’s astonishing to spot a depiction of US and Russian leaders engaged successful thoughtful dialogue. It’s intolerable to divorcement this play portion from existent events oregon to instrumentality authorities retired of it. The biggest takeaway from The Brink of War is however captious it is for satellite leaders, adjacent foes, to beryllium intelligent successful their attack to captious issues facing their peoples and empathetic capable to admit their shared humanity.