The Brink of War, 2026.
Written and Directed by Michael Russell Gunn.
Starring Jared Harris, Jeff Daniels, Branka Katić, Hope Davis, J.K. Simmons, Aya Cash, Guy Burnet, John Ross Bowie, Adrian Rawlins, Vladimir Kulich, Tim Dutton, Stephen Brennan, Catherine Burdon, and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson.
SYNOPSIS:
President Reagan races to save a nuclear deal with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as pressure mounts all around him. Every word spoken could move the world closer to peace – or destruction.
The Cold War is already perceived as a nothingburger in world history, so the concept of The Brink of War, a film that amounts to little more than a series of conversations between U.S. President Ronald Reagan (Jeff Daniels) and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev (Jared Harris) that, in itself, could be described as uneventful, is certainly a questionable choice on behalf of writer/director Michael Russell Gunn (making his sophomore film debut following a successful stint in TV).
However, once these political leaders with diametrically opposed viewpoints begin talking to one another with a degree of respect despite nuclear war potentially hanging in the balance (among other talking points), it is admittedly refreshing (and amusing given the heavy amount of prosthetic makeup work to make them appear like their historical counterparts) to watch actual conversations about such matters take place compared to embarrassing speeches coming out of the White House every day and another level of oppressive cruelty from Russia. At times, it’s as dry as the Cold War conflict itself, but it’s also certainly carried with the requisite weight and intrigue by Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris, with reliable supporting players like J.K. Simmons as Secretary of Defense George Shultz in a confidant role.
As previously mentioned, with nuclear war becoming more and more of a realistic, horrifying possibility, a summit is hastily thrown together for the two leaders in Reykjavík (shooting on location, which also adds a layer of immersion and striking photography to the occasional outdoors scenes, courtesy of cinematographer Magdalena Górka) to discuss a peaceful path forward. In what could be considered more compelling than the Cold War itself, the home they are staying in is thought to be haunted (picture frames and other objects fall off the walls at night), which is nonetheless an ominous allegory for just how much is hanging in the balance here.
The problem is that even those who flunked history classes are likely already aware that this conflict was a stalemate, which is good for the world and not necessarily for anyone seeking or creating entertainment (it took Hideo Kojima transforming it into a James Bond-esque narrative in the jungle with conspiracies, fantastical characters, weaponized mechs, and a total rewriting of history in beloved video game Metal Gear Solid 3 to make much of this palatable and exciting to an audience). This also makes the in medias res opening, depicting a peace deal falling apart at the last moment over a single word, come across as sweaty to maintain investment in the story rather than as an engrossing mystery of what that word could be. Nevertheless, the mystery is effective.
There is an entire subplot involving bored journalists struggling for material worthy of a report, learning nothing of value from a somewhat vain Raisa Gorbachev (Branka Katić), whereas Nancy Reagan (Hope Davis) stayed behind (as was the mutually agreed-upon plan for the wives) to handle other urgent matters, such as cancer research. Aside from the coincidence that even the reporters can’t find a headline here, it is an interesting parallel to Ronald Reagan, who here is presented as someone concerned that maybe public perception is right, that he is a warmonger. This also contextualizes why bringing up “human rights” as part of the deal to Mikhail Gorbachev (a phrase met with instantaneous annoyance on his face) is such a necessary part of the package for him, in addition to the simple matter of fighting for the Russian prime minister to see the flaws and errors in his leadership.
Across these numerous conversations (sometimes shot through a split screen to cut down on the horizontal gap between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, allowing the photography to focus on closer shots), several bargaining points come up, with key demands being the sister of Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich to travel to America for his birthday, or a pause on America’s proposed Strategic Defense Initiative, acting as a shield to possible threats (with the thinking being if they could find a way to shield themselves before everyone else, there would be less pressure and consequences on launching offensive attacks).
As the talks start and stop and start again, the heat eventually gets turned up in the final 30 minutes, when the premise of this all-important, course-of-history-altering meeting finally finds some energy and propulsion. Again, The Brink of War is coming out in a political landscape where productive conversation between political parties is no longer possible. It’s a wordy film, and we desperately need leaders again who can string together a sentence and make some semblance of sense with whatever truth or proposal they are pushing. There is also a Russian proverb that keeps coming up: “trust but verify”; oh, how verifying has become a thing of the past for society in the age of the Internet, with the assumption that anything said or read is true. This is a movie that a certain group of people should watch, and considering that Angel Studios is the distributor, for once, they might actually see it.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
