The Brink of War
Director: Michael Russell Gunn (Black Sails)
Screenplay: Gunn
Cast: Jeff Daniels (The Purple Rose of Cairo), Jared Harris
Length: 1h 57m
Rating: PG
In October 1986, president Ronald Reagan met in Reykjavik, Iceland, with General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to discuss nuclear disarmament and human rights.
Angel Studio’s The Brink of War, written and directed by Michael Rusell Gunn, is another of their fine films about heroism, be it those fighting human traffickers or Mother Cabrini. Except in a message at the end about supporting their goal, the filmmakers never let on their faith-based inclinations. Making a good film is their goal.
Reagan (Jeff Daniels) would like to talk seriously about human rights, for instance, citizens leaving Russia freely, and Gorbachev (Jared Harris) would like to tackle nuclear disarmament, a small drama in a former French consulate and British embassy. Over the 30 hours, they come more than once to a standstill because of their obsession over their priorities. Yet, the anti-communist bent and pro-democracy pov are inescapable, despite the principals’ low-key presentations.
Although the film is almost all talk, with several accompanying shots of the symbolic, barren Icelandic landscape, the dialogue is crisp with the undertone of “live or die” that talks about freedom and nuclear destruction breed.
Daniels is impressive as Reagan, and Harris incomparable as Gorbachev. Both have that Angel Studios’ sincerity of heroic leaders trying earnestly to find compromise and world peace. Their arguments are classic debate fodder that should be witnessed by any student of diplomacy.
While the results are long coming years in the future, the film includes some juicy smaller drama with Nancy Reagan (Hope Davis) absent and Raisa Gorbachev (Branka Katic) making some PR hay over that miscue. The other drama with NPR and NYT and KGB is minor, just supplying enough ruffage to make it all pleasing for audiences looking for more action than the president and secretary can provide.
The Brink of War is valuable to show the slow-moving mechanism of diplomacy that years later bears fruit such as the dissolution of the USSR, reduction of nuclear stockpiles and The Cold War.
Not minor history thanks to Angel.
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and Cinema Classics as well as podcasts Back Talk and Double Take (recently listed by Feedspot as two of the ten best NPR Movie Podcasts) out of WCBE 90.5 FM, Columbus, Ohio.Contact him at JohnDeSando52@gmail.com