THIRTEEN DAYS -------------
LAURA:
I was four years old when the Cuban Missile Crisis was going down. After seeing director Roger Donaldson's "Thirteen Days," I'm glad I was oblivious to the saber rattling.
In a year when "The Contender" represents the current state of politics and the media's obsession with sexual shenanigans, "Thirteen Days" harkens back to the days of true world leaders. In October, 1962, President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood, "Double Jeopardy") is presented with photographs identifying Russian missile installations being built in Cuba. With his Chiefs of Staff, including extreme Hawk General Curtis LeMay (Kevin Conway, "Two Family House"), bristling for a fight, Kennedy and his brother Robert (Steven Culp, "Nurse Betty") are forced to play an intricate game with the highest of stakes.
David Self's script (1999's "The Haunting") uses Kennedy advisor Kenny O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) as the audience's eyes and ears into the escalating tension at the White House as well as a bridge to family life outside the political arena. As O'Donnell's name isn't widely recognized, we're able to observe the likes of the Kennedy brothers, Robert McNamara, Adlai Stevenson and other notable figures of the era from more common ground. With the exception of the overly broad Boston accent, Costner delivers fine, restrained work here. (Historians may quibble about the extent of O'Donnell's role, but it works for the film). While most may be familiar with the broadstrokes of this event, the script is still rivetting storytelling as the world's future all comes down to human intuition and second guessing.
O'Donnell's closeness to the Kennedy family is immediately established as he jokingly spars with Jackie (an unconvincing Stephanie Romanov) over a White House party guest list. Soon the major players - Robert McNamara (Dylan Baker, "Happiness"), General Maxwell Taylor (Bill Smitrovich), General Curtis LeMay, Dean Rusk (Henry Strozier), General Marshall Carter (Ed Lauter), Lyndon Johnson (Walter Adrian), Dean Acheson (Len Cariou) and Ted Sorensen (Tim Kelleher) are assembled in various configurations debating the course of action. Kennedy clearly doesn't trust his military advisors after the Bay of Pigs, so favors a blockade (to be called a quarantine as a blockade is an act of war). Many of his advisors find this weak. O'Donnell takes it upon himself to contact the men in the trenches flying spying missions over Cuba, to beg them 'not to be shot at' - in other words, not to provide any information about Russian aggression to their commanders. McNamara squares off against the Naval Chief of Staff in the war room, demanding that only the President give orders to fire upon Russian naval vessels.
The uneasiness is also represented for the Russian side, as Kruschev's handwriting is analyzed as 'being under great stress' and O'Donnell reassures a nervous secretary in the Russian Embassy that he's a friend. Pacifist Adlai Stevenson (a terrific turn by Michael Fairman) recreates the famous, televized UN hearing where he accuses the brash then flustered Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin of lying about their missile installations.
Meanwhile Helen O'Donnell (Lucinda Jenney, "Remember the Titans") copes with the large O'Donnel brood as her husband intermittently makes his way home for brief time periods at odd hours. The media is held at bay until JFK addresses the nation, then the American public empties stores of supplies and holds its collective breath.
Bruce Greenwood beautifully evokes JFK. Without really looking or sounding like him, Greenwood gets the body language, the mannerisms, the fiery intelligence and the uncertainty of the man. Steven Culp, looking and sounding quite a bit like RFK, absolutely works off of Greenwood to create a portrait of the two brothers.
Director of photography Andrzej Bartkowiak ("Dante's Peak") keeps his camera intimate, occasionally punching up the visuals with shots of US pilots darting through dangerous Cuban skies. Color is gradually bled from the film, letting some scenes play in a bluish black and white that recalls the time setting. Production designer Dennis Washington ("Dante's Peak") did extensive research to recreate JFK's White House. The film is tautly editted by Academy Award winner Conrad Buff ("Titanic").
The film ends on a grace note. As the Kennedys and O'Donnell walk outside the White House walls, we hear the real voice of JFK. The actors pass, each leaving a shadow, the last of which is our 35th President.
B+
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