We sometimes talk about how an actor portraying a real-life figure is “virtually unrecognizable” and “disappears into the role” thanks to makeup and hair and prosthetics and, most important, the tools of the performer’s trade.
This is not the case with Jeff Daniels’ interpretation of President Ronald Reagan in the solid and illustrative (if occasionally stodgy) political drama “The Brink of War.” Daniels doesn’t look like the 40th president and doesn’t really nail the actor-turned-politician’s distinctive vocal cadence, but it’s an effective performance nonetheless. The versatile and screen-commanding Daniels does an impressive job of capturing Reagan’s way of tilting his head a certain way, his gait, and most importantly, the polished yet sometimes meandering essence of the man. As J.K. Simmons’ Secretary of State George Schultz notes early on in the film, there’s tremendous value in having your opponents underestimate you, and this was one of Reagan’s strengths, as a candidate and as president. (He also had many weaknesses that have been thoroughly chronicled by historians over the decades, but we will not delve into that, as this is a film review, not a documentary or biography.)
Directed with economic efficiency and only the occasional stylistic flourish by Michael Russell Gunn in his feature debut, “The Brink of War” begins in medias res, with Daniels as Reagan telling his Secretary of State George Schultz, “I failed. I offered him the deal of the century…and he’s walking away over a single word. I never should have trusted him.”
The “he” in question is the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Jared Harris in a remarkable performance). As a series of title cards have informed us, the Cold War was on the verge of igniting into a horrific firestorm in October 1986, with the United States and the Soviet Union aiming tens of thousands of nuclear missiles at each other. Reagan and Gorbachev agreed to meet in Reykjavik, Iceland, at Höfði House, the former official residence of the British Embassy. That very same house is the central location for the filming of “The Brink of War,” with Daniels and Harris facing off in the original chairs where Reagan and Gorbachev, in front of the same artwork that hung on the walls some 40 years ago. Pretty cool.
In fact much of the film takes place in that room, with Reagan and Gorbachev alternating between sincere efforts for arms reduction and some friendly exchanges, and heated disagreements where they take turns insulting the governments of each other’s nations. This could be a stage play, with just the two main characters and a bare minimum of furniture. It’s a testament to the star power and forceful talents of Daniels and Harris that we never grow restless with the static nature of the proceedings.
When Reagan brings up the Soviet Union’s oppressive government and the lack of freedom afforded its people, Gorbachev counters by ticking off systematic problems in the United States, ranging from homelessness to high murder rates to a history of racism. Reagan talks of Soviet dissidents being sent to the gulag; Gorbachev retorts that Reagan’s detractors can shoot him. When Gorbachev pounds the table in frustration, Reagan flinches—but keeps looking his foe in the eye. This is neither a hagiography of Reagan nor an indictment. It sticks to the factual framework of this particular meeting, while exercising some poetic license, e.g., Reagan gazing warily up at the stuffed reindeer head mounted on his bedroom wall and telling his wife Nancy (Hope Davis) over the phone, “There’s something weird about reindeer…Santa’s all wrong about them.”
Director Gunn and the talented cinematographer Magdalena Górka mark the passing of the hours with transition shots of the beautiful albeit sometimes forbidding landscapes and seascapes of Iceland. We get shots of KGB and Secret Service personnel stationed about, and there’s an interlude where Raisa Gorbacheva (the Serbian actress Branka Katić, in a sly turn) visits The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, enjoying the attentions of the international press, while Nancy Reagan stews at home, lamenting her decision not to join her Ronny on the trip. (The talented Aya Cash is terrific as an American radio reporter who, like the rest of the Western press, finds it nearly impossible to cover the proceedings with any substance, as she’s kept at a distance from the principals.)
At times, “The Brink of War” plays like a video history lesson. Simmons is outstanding as Schultz, even when he has to state the obvious, e.g., telling Reagan, “This could be historic. Your legacy.” Well, yeah. Still, Schultz gets his due as the unsung hero of the talks, keeping the discussion on track when egos and tempers get in the way.
In the fall of 1986, the Reykjavik meetings were considered a wasted opportunity, a failure. Still, the handful of compromises reached during those two days set the table for an historic arms reduction agreement in Washington, D.C., just 14 months later. This is the story of how the two most powerful men in the world, who disagreed about virtually everything, started pulling back from the brink.
