THIRTEEN DAYS
Review by John Beachem
* * * *
Directed by: Roger Donaldson Written by: Ernest R. May (novel), Philip D. Zelikow (novel), David Self
Umm, it's the Cuban missile crisis folks. I'm going to keep the plot summary really short, and if you want to know more before seeing the film I'd recommend breaking out the old history books. When the Russians begin moving nuclear warheads into Cuba, the US catches them with aerial photographs. When confronted with accusations of their activities, the Russians deny everything and claim to the world that the US is trying to make them look bad in an effort to start a war. President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood), Robert Kennedy (Stephen Culp), and Kennedy's chief adviser, Kenny O'Donnell (Kevin Costner) have to decide what to do about the situation. The joint chiefs want to go in, guns blazing and destroy everything in Cuba before occupying the country. Other advisers want to set up a blockade, keeping any Russian ships from entering Cuba with more supplies. The last alternative, which almost no one is willing to consider, is to make a deal with Russia and remove the nuclear weapons we have in Turkey in exchange for Russia's agreement to remove all weapons from Cuba and never put any in the country again. They have to choose quickly, because in only thirteen days the nuclear weapons in Cuba will be active.
Let me admit something to you before we begin. There's only one reason I went to see Thirteen Days, and I'm ashamed to admit it was just to see the preview for the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie. Yes, the trailer was very nice, but I was even more surprised to discover that I truly enjoyed the movie which followed. I remember seeing the previews for Thirteen Days some four or five months ago, and thinking two things to myself: "That's going to be completely inaccurate" and "How can a story on the Cuban missile crisis be all that suspenseful?" I'm happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised on both counts. Being something of a history buff, I expected the film to maul the real events. I pictured behind the scenes espionage, unreported armed conflicts, hidden murders and more (I half expected something as ridiculous as Kennedy himself flying a thunderbird into Cuba to drop a necessary bomb). Surprisingly (and thankfully), the film stays fairly true to the real events. Yes, some of the technology used didn't yet exist, and a few behind the scenes dealings were obviously made up/theorized, but otherwise this is quite historically accurate (unlike, say, U-571 from earlier in the year). As for the suspense, well, lets just say I had no idea a whole lot of talking and pensive expressions could keep me on the edge of my seat.
I must say, when I first read the cast list for Thirteen Days, my expectations plummeted into the basement. I've never been a fan of Kevin "Bad Sci-fi" Costner, and I've never understood peoples' fascination with his brand of "I'm playing the exact same guy with different names" acting. True to form, his acting in Thirteen Days simply bugged me. In particular, his impersonation of a Boston accent was gratingly bad. Thankfully, Costner is given tremendous support from the unlikeliest of places. Bruce Greenwood, who has shocked and appalled with one rancid performance after another (Double Jeopardy and Rules of Engagement being prime examples) is outstanding as JFK. This is made even more surprising by the fact that Greenwood doesn't particularly look like Kennedy and yet you don't question his playing the man for more than a minute. Equally impressive is Steven Culp as Robert Kennedy. Culp's career thus far has been composed almost entirely of brief parts in films and one recurring character in the television series "JAG", but I expect things to take off for him after his turn in Thirteen Days. The remaining cast members all give decent performances, the only exception in my opinion being Madison Mason (Crazy in Alabama), who seems to be having far too much fun making his Admiral Anderson look like a complete jerk.
It's a testament to the film's script and Roger Donaldson's (Species) direction that a story we all know the end to manages to keep us guessing, wondering, and hoping for a good outcome. Thanks mainly to Donaldson, the story moves at an unrelenting pace, seldom giving you more than a few minutes to sit back and take a breather. These breather scenes tend to involve things like Kenny visiting his son's football game, or he and the Kennedys sitting in the oval office, reminiscing. Otherwise the scenes are packed with taunt verbal action between Kennedy and his advisers. It's true, the joint chiefs are shown as a little more villainous than is likely to have been true, and the Kennedys are shown as indomitable heros, but you know what? That's that's the way Americans seem to like it. Something else I've got to commend Donaldson for is the amount of restraint he shows when it comes to military conflict being portrayed. As well all know, there wasn't any actual combat in the Cuban missile crisis, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are really only two or three scenes in the movie which even resemble armed conflict. They're brief scenes, involving planes flying over Cuba taking pictures while ground troops and SAM silos take pot shots at them, but there's something patriotic about seeing our boys fly in there, and I'll be damned if it didn't bring a tear of pride to my eye. Alright, I'm better now.
The faults with Thirteen Days are few, but significant. First, and most importantly, the film simply runs out of steam. I realize it's difficult for any movie to keep its audience engrossed for well over two hours (though Traffic managed that very thing with apparent ease), but after a tense, involving two hours, the sudden plummet into the depths of boredom in the film's final half hour comes as something of a shock. Also, the film ends on a schmaltzy, feel-good note which feels quite out of place compared with the rest of the movie. A minor quibble would be with a few of Donaldson's filming ideas. For example, at times the film suddenly goes into black and white for a few moments before switching back into color. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to when this will happen, and it succeeds in doing little more than confusing the audience (I heard a fellow behind me telling his wife he'd go talk to the manager about their projector being broken). Fortunately, working heavily in the film's favor is the score by Trevor Jones (Dark City). The score is not only brilliantly written, but perfectly utilized; underscoring and highlighting every scene it's played during rather than overpowering the action on screen. 13 Days runs a long 145 minutes, so get some rest before you catch it. I'd recommend the film to fans of political thrillers and history buffs (who, if nothing else, will get a kick out of some of the technology being used) and give it four out of five stars.
Comments? Send to: johnbeachem@dependentfilms.net
Past reviews can be found at: http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?John+Beachem
* * * * * - One of the best movies of the year. * * * * - Great flick, try and catch this one. * * * - Okay movie, hits and misses. * * - Pretty bad, see it at your own risk. * - See this one only if you enjoy pain.
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