Netflix’s No. 1 film « A House of Dynamite » explores how the U.S. government might respond to a nuclear attack. How close is the movie’s doomsday scenario to reality?
Kathryn Bigelow’s gripping doomsday thriller A House of Dynamite explores the ripple effects across the military and high levels of government if the U.S. were attacked by a nuclear missile. Now the No. 1 film on the platform, how accurate is it, and did anything remotely close to the events in the movie happen in real life?
A House of Dynamite takes viewers through the same day from three perspectives: first, the tense White House Situation Room; then, the United States Strategic Command; and finally, the President himself. Officials from all three locations communicate via a national security conference call. They have roughly 18 minutes to decide what to do before an unattributed nuclear missile is expected to detonate in a major U.S. metropolitan area.Is A House of Dynamite A True Story?
No, A House of Dynamite is not a true story. Although the film is fictional, it draws on real-world nuclear protocols and government response procedures, as well as specific real-life defense locations and military command centers, such as the missile defense system in Fort Greely, Alaska.
The thriller was written by Noah Oppenheim, the former president of NBC News, who spent decades covering politics and foreign affairs. The acclaimed journalist told TIME that he’s always been fascinated by the way institutions handle crises and respond under pressure.
“When I got my first significant job in news, somebody said to me, ‘I’ve got bad news. There is no floor of grownups that know what to do,’” Oppenheim explained. “It’s just people, and we’re all doing the best we can. And that’s true in every organization, including the White House and the Pentagon.”
The screenwriter, who conducted extensive research on the topic, told Netflix that he and the filmmakers wanted to showcase how little time the U.S. government — or any government, for that matter — would have to respond to a nuclear attack. “During that same 18 minutes, we wanted to show what was happening throughout the entire apparatus of the government,” he said.
