{"id":5143,"date":"2026-08-12T06:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T06:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5143"},"modified":"2026-08-12T06:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T06:09:27","slug":"the-brink-of-war-review-jeff-daniels-makes-an-unpersuasive-ronald-reagan-in-talky-historical-drama-about-nuclear-summit-with-gorbachev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5143","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Brink of War\u2019 Review: Jeff Daniels Makes an Unpersuasive Ronald Reagan in Talky Historical Drama About Nuclear Summit With Gorbachev"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tYou have to acknowledge the good intentions behind Michael Russell Gunn\u2019s feature directorial debut depicting the 1986 meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik that helped advance the cause of a nuclear reduction treaty. In the film\u2019s press notes, the writer-director emphasizes that his intention was not to make his movie overly political, but rather to illustrate the vital importance of people with different ideologies simply talking with each other in order to bridge divides. To that end, The Brink of War<\/em> features lots and lots of\u2026talk.<\/p>\n

Read more Paramount Has Spent 100 Years in Hollywood. David Ellison Loved That. Until He Didn\u2019t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing, even though the nearly one-location setting, with lengthy scenes in which the two figures engage in vigorous debate, indicates that the material might have been better served as a play. But then you wouldn\u2019t have had the endless shots of the stunningly beautiful Icelandic landscape that provide visual palette cleansers between the claustrophobic sequences.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

\n

\t\t\t\t\tThe Brink of War\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n

\nThe Bottom Line<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\tHistory come to only intermittent life.
\n\t<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\nRelease date:<\/strong> Friday, August 14
Cast:<\/strong> Jeff Daniels, Jared Harris, Hope Davis, Branka Katic, J.K. Simmons, Aya Cash, Guy Burnet
Director-screenwriter:<\/strong> Michael Russell Gunn
\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRated PG,
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1 hour 57 minutes\t\t\t<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tThe film concerns an important historical event, in which the world leaders met at a small, rustic and supposedly haunted house at the edge of the sea to discuss their mutual interest in not blowing up the world. The production achieved a coup by filming at the actual location, with the scenes of Reagan (Jeff Daniels) and Gorbachev (Jared Harris) shot in the room where the meetings took place.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe problem is that the filmmaker, who served as a story editor for Aaron Sorkin\u2019s HBO series The Newsroom<\/em>, is, like his mentor, often too concerned with telling us exactly how to think. Time and time again throughout The Brink of War<\/em>, the characters expound on the vital importance of their mission and the world-changing stakes involved. The dialogue feels more like speechifying, with such familiar phrases as \u201cTrust but verify\u201d and \u201cPeace through strength\u201d invoked like a band performing its greatest hits in concert. When a frustrated Reagan finally bellows, \u201cTear down this wall between us, Mr. Gorbachev!\u201d you have to resist the urge to shine your cell phone flashlight.<\/p>\n

\n\tBeing superficially familiar with the events in question but not enough of an expert, I can\u2019t vouch for the accuracy of the film\u2019s depiction. Obvious liberties are taken for the sake of cinematic convenience, such as Reagan and Gorbachev talking to each other in English even though they actually spoke via translators. That\u2019s not a problem, although you\u2019d think that in the scenes featuring just Gorbachev and his wily wife Raisa (a scene-stealing Branka Katic) that they would speak in Russian.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe lengthy dialogue exchanges between the two main characters are reasonably compelling, even if the slowly-paced film feels longer than its two hours. Much of the credit goes to Harris, who delivers a superb performance as the Soviet leader who desperately wants to achieve an historic agreement but is unwilling to sacrifice his country\u2019s security by allowing Reagan to fulfill his quixotic goal of creating a missile defense shield. When Gorbachev rebukes Reagan about the U.S. not sharing the technology for cow milking machines that would help feed his people, Harris makes the leader\u2019s anger feel fully real.<\/p>\n

Read more Crunchyroll, Sony Nab Makoto Shinkai\u2019s Untitled Next Anime Film for Global Release<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tDaniels has a more difficult task, since we\u2019re so much more familiar with Reagan\u2019s looks and voice. Though he\u2019s boasting a mild hair-and-make-up job and the occasional verbal tic of starting a sentence with \u201cWell\u2026\u201d the actor doesn\u2019t deliver a true impression as much as he strives to convey Reagan\u2019s essence. He does a creditable job, but sorry, he looks and sounds so much like Jeff Daniels that it\u2019s hard to buy into the illusion.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s also hard to be convinced by the film\u2019s depiction of Reagan \u2014 whose mental decline may well have begun by that time \u2014 as playing sophisticated 4D chess in his negotiations stressing human rights. According to the film, the success of the summit would be determined by Gorbachev\u2019s decision whether or not to let the sister of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich leave Russia to visit him for his birthday.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nHope Davis shows up briefly as Nancy Reagan, chafing at being left home in Washington while Raisa Gorbachev flaunts her presence in Iceland to the press, and a not very interesting subplot revolves around two reporters (Aya Cash, Guy Burnet) covering Raisa throughout the weekend. The ever-reliable J.K. Simmons makes a strong impression as Secretary of State George Shultz, depicted as a voice of reason and to whom the film is dedicated.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film employs a few stylistic devices to alleviate the visual monotony, such as occasional split screens enclosing the two central figures and, in a more heavy-handed example, making the table between them smaller and smaller in different shots to emphasize their diplomatic progress. But the visual touches aren\u2019t enough to prevent The Brink of War<\/em> from feeling like an academic history lesson rather than living, breathing drama.<\/p>\n

Read more Jason Sudeikis Makes Cameo at Mumford & Sons Concert to Perform \u2018Ted Lasso\u2019 Theme Song<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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