A House of Dynamite Parent Guide

It seems like a normal day. The soldiers at Fort Greeley in Alaska are squabbling over a messy desk and making casual small talk. Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) rushes to work at the White House Situation Room after being up all night with her feverish child. Deputy National Security Advisor Jake Baerington (Gabriel Basso) is filling in for his boss, who’s sedated for a coloscopy. The NSA’s North Korea expert, Ana Park (Greta Lee) chooses to spend the day with her young son at a re-enactment of the battle of Gettysburg. Secretary of Defense Reid Baker (Jared Harris) enjoys a round of golf under bright blue skies. And the President of the United States (Idris Elba) is off to shoot some hoops and make inspiring speeches at a girls’ basketball academy.

Then an SBX-1 (Sea-Based X-Band Radar-1) mobile station in the Pacific detects a missile launch with a projected target in the Northeast United States. It’s all hands on deck as everyone scrambles to intercept the missile, identify its origin, determine its target, and debate a retaliatory strategy.

Director Kathryn Bigelow, who won an Oscar for The Hurt Locker, brings her keen eye for detail to this ferociously frightening film. From the soldiers on the Alaskan base all the way through the levels of national security and military command, this script by Noah Oppenheim shows us the complex decisions that must be made despite scanty information and impossibly tight timelines. To ensure that we have a well-rounded view of the process, the story is told from multiple perspectives – the well-trained but terrified soldiers, the steely NSA staffers, the grieving Defense Secretary, the horrified President.

Where the script shines isn’t just in its meticulous depiction of the United States’ defense and security apparatus but in snapshots of the mundane details of daily life – the little things that make life precious. There’s the toy dinosaur Captain Walker’s sick son handed her on her way to work. The ultrasound picture of the baby carried by Baerington’s wife. The excitement of the girls who get to shoot hoops with the President. These brief, normal moments are a gut-punch; a reminder of what could so easily be lost.

Equally impressive is the film’s relatively low levels of negative content. There’s frequent discussion of nuclear conflict, but no on-screen death (aside from a suicide). The only major issue is profanity, with over five dozen curse words, almost half of which are sexual expletives. Honestly, given the stakes, I’m surprised the swear count isn’t higher and I’m prepared to cut some slack for people who just might be staring at the end of the world. If they drop a few four-letter words, I’m not going to judge.

Despite the profanity, I recommend this film for adults or mature teens who are interested in nuclear issues, national security, or realistic thrillers that provide food for thought and topics for discussion. But whatever you do, don’t watch this film before bed. I watched it in the morning, which will give me the rest of the day to decompress. Here’s hoping I’ll be able to sleep tonight.

About author

Kirsten Hawkes

Kirsten Hawkes has a BA in Political Science and English and has worked in international development and medical education and marketing. Kirsten enjoys reading, watching movies, and debating politics with her husband and sometimes unwilling children.