Thirteen Days

Following the very effective stock footage credits sequence, Thirteen Days could quickly have dwindled down into a disaster. Kevin Costner is in his house amngst his family, occasionally spouting dialogue in a laughable Boston accent. I've heard effective Boston accents before, and Costner's is not one of them. These first moments of the film are close to agonizing. We get the impression that Kenny O'Donnell (Costner's character) is supposed to be angry at his son for getting bad grades, but instead we just laugh at his reprimands. Thankfully for us, however, Costner seemed to have gradually learned the accent as the shooting continued and none of the scenes are close to as awful as the first. Actually, the rest of the film is a riveting historical feature with an outcome we already know but nonetheless contains quite a bit of tension.

The film tells of the thirteen days in which our nation was as close as it ever was to being engulfed in nucleur war. The Russians were preparing long-range nucleur missiles for launch in Cuba, and the United States could not allow this to happen. Political and militarist strategy took over as The White House became a 24 hour spotlight of the world. What are they to do when faced with the possibility of World War III? Since we're yet to be engulfed by million degree temperatures or radiation from the splitting of an atom, we know the result. Eventually cooler heads prevail and the world becomes a safer place.

The script, an adaptation masterfully written by David Self, is excellent in its pacing and introduction of key characters. Self and director Donaldson keep the film moving at a steady, tense pace. The characters that need to be are full, round individuals with the full spectrum of emotions. The people of the time and their apprehension of the task at hand are perfectly captured by the film.

It's refreshing to see a film which relies almost entirely on acting and scriptwriting rather than pyrotechnics. The acting, Kevin Costner's opening five minutes aside, is great. JFK, performed by Bruce Greenwood, is a complex character facing difficult decisions. The stress can be seen in his eyes as the two weeks drag on endlessly for him. Costner, too, shows his character's intelligent tenacity through facial expressions more than adaquately. It's truly a fine ensemble piece.

Strategically placed moments of black and white are placed throughout, capturing the historical, almost documentary style of the film. If not for the grainy, saturated shades of gray, the film would hold less a feeling of authenticity. Because of this visual style, the film becomes a fascinating historical lesson about one of the most important times in modern United States history.

Because the tale is told in such a straight forward manner, it's hard to dispute the points-of-view that are expressed in the film. Maybe miscommunication and accident are the primary reasons for the conflict almost reaching a boiling point. Maybe the military chiefs of staff from the Pentagon were as villainous as they are portrayed here. Maybe the only reason we were saved is because of the actions of a few diplomatic geniuses working in the president's cabinet. With a historical legacy portrayed as vividly as it is in Thirteen Days, who's to argue?

On a scale of 1 to 10 fine lines between fact and fiction : 8