Deterrence (film)
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Deterrence is a low-budget 1999 movie by director Rod Lurie depicting fictional events about nuclear brinksmanship. The movie marks the feature directorial debut of Lurie, who was previously a prominent film critic for The New York Daily News, Premiere Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and Movieline, among others.
Synopsis
The movie opens with a series of historical clips of various United States Presidents making speeches before beginning the story. President Walter Emerson, newly elevated from the role of Vice-President by a sudden vacancy, is crossing the country on a campaign tour when a freak snowstorm traps him in remote Colorado diner with a bunch of ordinary citizens.Suddenly, word arrives that Uday Hussein, leader of Iraq, has invaded Kuwait. With U.S. troops already committed to other countries, specifically South Korea, Emerson informs the world that unless Hussein orders an immediate retreat and surrenders himself, he will bomb Baghdad with a nuclear weapon, to the dismay of the customers in the diner. Hussein's diplomat refuses to back down and cuts off the telephone talks, citing the fact that Emerson is an unelected leader and a Jew, also threatening to fire their own, black-market atomic bombs at several world locations including Emerson's own. After that, it's solely a matter of who "blinks first," but unexpectedly Emerson is far more eager than Hussein to begin a nuclear war.
Tagline
"Every President has a defining moment. Walter Emerson is about to have his."Praise and Criticism
This is a movie that elicits a strong response. Some viewers have hailed this film as a taut political thriller, Armageddon as seen through the eyes of helpless civilians as well as the iron-nerved Commander-in-Chief. Others have called it jingoistic garbage that substitutes macho posturing for both common sense and human decency.Cast
- Kevin Pollak as President Walter Emerson
- Sean Astin as Ralph
- Timothy Hutton as Marshall Thompson
- Sheryl Lee Ralph as Gayle Redford
- Clotilde Courau as Katie
- Badja Djola as Harvey
- Mark Thompson as Gerald Irvin
- Michael Mantell as Taylor Woods
- Kathryn Morris as Lizzie Woods
- Ryan Cutrona as Agent Dexter
- Joe McCrackin as Agent Williams
- Scoot Powell as Noah
- J. Scott Shonka as Captain Coddington
- Rigg Kennedy as Howard
External link
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