Thirteen Days (2001)
Unlike many Januarys, this month offers almost too many good releases to cover.
Director Roger Donaldson does a dynamic job with historic material – namely, the Cuban missile crisis of October, 1962 – in the new film THIRTEEN DAYS.
Think it might be boring because it features politicians and events covered briefly in history books? Think again.
Bruce Greenwood plays President John F. Kennedy facing a situation that would define him as a leader. Several months after the U.S.-supported invasion of Cuba failed (the Bay of Pigs), the Kennedy administration is confronted by perhaps the hardest fact of the Cold War. The Soviet Union is raising their level of support for Fidel Castro and his Communist regime in Cuba. Building a missile base on the island of Cuba, just 90 miles from the mainland United States, is unacceptable. Because the missiles are some of the most dangerous nuclear weapons the world has seen, action is compulsory. Of course the pressure on the young president and his cabinet is great.
Kevin Costner plays Kenny O'Donnell, a character who is a composite of JFK's advisors. It's been said that Costner made the right decision in not playing either Kennedy or his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Certainly this is the strongest performance and the strongest material turned in by Costner in some time. We see O'Donnell's life divided between family and job: as we see, family life is disrupted greatly. One reason Costner was smart to take the O'Donnell role is that his character is the pivot of the narrative. O'Donnell has probably several more minutes than anyone else, and we see the action through this unassuming narrator.
The script and direction are equally competent in keeping the story moving. With the help of many documents obtained only recently by the National Archives, the movie enables us to see the crisis from many vantages. One key fact long hidden by government safekeepers: Russian commanders in Cuba possessed tactical nuclear weapons, bombs that could have proven devastating to our troops and ordnance in any short of conflict.
Greenwood plays the President well. He never goes over the top, and his New England accent is not distracting. The actor playing Robert, Steven Culp, has actually appeared in the role previously, and his looks and manner are striking. We especially sympathize with this powerful politician during a scene in which Kenny O'Donnell is driving him to his office to meet with the Russian foreign minister. Bobby Kennedy expresses exhaustion and frustration with his reputation of being ruthless.
Costner is the star of this film. Although his own accent (his character grew up knowing the Kennedys) is at times distracting, this veteran actor is able to convince us thoroughly. We get a sense of several dimensions of the Washington power structure, and we see just how important are presidential advisors in striking deals and averting crises. The scenes featuring O'Donnell's family nicely evoke the American scene of the early 1960's.
Henry Strozier is strong as one of Kennedy's more prominent cabinet members, Secretary of State, even though his role is small. In an even tinier role, Walter Adrian speaks one line as vice president Lyndon Baines Johnson. Frank Wood portrays McGeorge Bundy, and Janet Coleman is the President's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln.
The star of the support cast is Dylan Baker as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. This role lets Baker portray the guts it must have taken to stare down not only the `Red Menace' but also the hawkish American generals who were dubious of the President's methods of operation.
THIRTEEN DAYS would be especially effective for students in high school Government or American History classes. It's a good story set in a vastly important time in American history, and it's told with a quick pace and timeless tension. Donaldson also does a nice job paying tribute to the Kennedy brothers, without getting too much into the cults of personality and family surrounding them. Ultimately the story honors their memories, as well as the spirit of America itself, at the heart of which is freedom.
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