Shortly after its premiere, Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear warning film House of Dynamite earned a curious distinction. Instead of Oscar nominations or accolades, it was a warning: according to Bloomberg, it came in the form of an internal memo from the Pentagon.
The document, dated Oct. 16, was meant to “address false assumptions, provide correct facts and a better understanding” than what Bigelow’s film depicts. A film that centres on America’s hypothetical response to an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) rocketing towards the United States with less than 20 minutes warning.
In Bigelow’s movie, which she and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim say was made with extensive guidance from scientists and previous administration members, the government's reaction did not exactly paint a pretty picture.
At one point, a defence secretary (played by Jared Harris) is shocked to find their missile defence systems — which stand as really the only contingency plan at their disposal — have success rates barely above 60 per cent.
“So it’s a f--king coin toss?” he laments. “That’s what $50 billion buys us?”
WATCH | House of Dynamite trailer:
As stated in the memo itself, the Pentagon’s response was written to brief staff confronted with worries similar to thos
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