Manhattan Project (film)
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The movie The Manhattan Project was released on June 13, 1986. It was not a dramatic hit, grossing a total of only $3,900,000 USD at the box office (but cost only $500,000, and thus was profitable). Named after the World War 2 era US nuclear program, it runs on the major themes of the 1980s Cold War: government secrecy, mutually assured destruction, and other issues. It starred several modernly famous comic actors before they were such stars, including John Lithgow and John Mahoney, and star of Sex and the City, Cynthia Nixon. It was written by Thomas Baum and Marshall Brickman and directed by Marshall Brickman.
The plot
In this movie, Dr. John Matthewson (John Lithgow) discovers a brilliant new process for refining plutonium to purities greater than 99.99%. The US government is so impressed with his work, they provide him with an entire government laboratory masking as a medical technology company, Medatomics Company, in the real-world suburban neighborhood of Ithaca, New York. Matthewson moves to this new location and, in his search for an apartment, meets real estate agent Elizabeth Stephens (Jill Eikenberry). He attempts to win her affections by inviting her brilliantly independent son, Paul (Christopher Collet), to take a tour of Medatomics and see "one of the sexiest lasers on the eastern seaboard."
Matthewson is confident that the medical research lab cover story will hold out, but Paul becomes suspicious of the company's true nature when he discovers a statistically impossible patch of five-leaf clover on the grounds. Paul and his aspiring journalist girlfriend, Jenny Anderman (Cynthia Nixon), decide to expose the secret weapons factory in a most dramatic way: Paul breaks into the Medatomics company and steals enough incredibly pure plutonium to build a nuclear bomb. To get the maximum publicity (and, thus, the maximum public outcry), Paul decides to build a full-scale nuclear fission device and enter it into the Science Fair. After convincing his mother and school his project is about hamsters bred in complete darkness, his research and construction begin on the nuclear device.
Meanwhile, Matthewson and the rest of Medatomics Company discover that their plutonium is missing (replaced by a bottle of shampoo and metallic glitter) and the government is informed. The government sends a military investigation team, headed by Lt. Colonel Conroy (John Mahoney), to recover the plutonium and arrest those responsible. Gradually, their investigation reveals that Paul has somehow taken the plutonium and has been researching the construction of a nuclear weapon. Suddenly, he is a suspected terrorist and his home is invaded by military and government agents. However, Paul has already left for the Science Fair.
When the government agents catch up to Paul at the Science Fair, Paul and Dr. Matthewson have a nice heart-to-heart talk wherein Matthewson tells Paul to just give the bomb to the agents or "they'll lock you in a room and throw away the key." Some of the Paul's fellow geeks from the Science Fair help him escape federal custody (because, after all, "there is more to life than freezing toads") Paul, Jenny, and his nuclear bomb become fugitives from the feds.
Paul, in an effort to get his life back, hatches a blindly perilous plan: He will return the bomb, but on his own terms. He calls the feds from a pay phone, ensures Jenny is a safe distance away, and walks into the Medatomics building surrounded by military snipers and government agents while carrying the nuclear bomb in a wooden box marked "Live Animals: Do Not Open". Negotiations go badly, and Paul and the military end up in a standoff. Paul, to ensure his own survival via Mutually Assured Destruction, arms the nuclear bomb. Dr. Matthewson becomes convinced that everything is unfairly stacked against Paul and that Paul was just trying to do the right thing. Thus, he takes it upon himself to get Paul out safely, even though it risks his own life.
Then the timer on the nuclear weapon turns on by itself and begins to count down. All sides put down their weapons and team up to dismantle the nuclear bomb, which they manage to do at the last possible moment and at great suspense. After a brief moment of relief, the government agents decide to arrest Paul for all the trouble he caused. Dr. Matthewson opens the door, showing the crowd of private citizens and press that Jenny arranged, and says "We blew it." The secret weapons factory is exposed, all the secrets exposed, and Paul revered as the hero who exposed it all. The town of Ithaca is beautiful and safe, and the movie ends.
Analysis
This movie is a cautionary tale regarding nuclear weapon capability and research, a common theme of 1980s fiction. It also is arguably a hero's epic, with Paul being smarter and more capable than all others and saving the day in the end. It gives a little insight into nerd culture (especially at the science fair), gives a dramatic example of the strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction and nuclear deterrence, and promotes the value of investigative reporting (even that of laypeople). Finally, it provides a rather comical running gag of probability and gambling, most obviously demonstrated when Dr. Matthewson asks if anyone is willing to bet on whether they can successfully disarm the ticking nuclear bomb (the joke being that if he loses, no one will live to collect their winnings).This movie is often compared to WarGames, often unfavorably, due to the similarity of a high school teenager almost causing nuclear war. Others argue that the similarities end there. They argue that WarGames insinuates nuclear holocaust was inevitable without a change of strategy, while The Manhattan Project insinuates that the Cold War would end well due to the USA and USSR's mutual interest in continued survival. Furthermore, they argue that the science and military strategy in WarGames was often dumbed down for the average layman, whereas The Manhattan Project spoke on a higher scientific and mathematical level (for example, Dr. Matthewson determines how much time before the exponential decay timer on the bomb hits zero by doing limit math for the audience to hear). At the box office, however, there was no similarity; WarGames grossed over US$79 million, while The Manhattan Project grossed less than $4 million. On the other hand, WarGames cost $12 million to make, while The Manhattan Project cost about $500,000.
Critical Sound Bites
Time Magazine called this movie "One of the most intelligent and gripping thrillers of recent years."The Hollywood Reporter said this movie was "intelligent and entertaining [with] a satisfyingly suspenseful finale."
Roger Ebert said "this isn't really a teenage movie at all, it's a [...] tense and effective thriller."
Trivia
- When talking to his teacher about the science fair, Paul is wearing a shirt that reads "Being and Nothingness", probably in reference to the 1943 philosophy book by Jean-Paul Sartre.
- Several real sources of nuclear research material are displayed on the screen while Paul is researching how to build the nuclear bomb. This could be a kind of visual bibliography from the film makers to defend their film's assertion that all the information necessary to build a nuclear bomb is available to the common public.
- Instead of a Science Fair set, the producers essentially held a science fair at the New York Penta Hotel (participants received $75, and winners were judged). The name of the science fair is visible on a sign at one end of the room (the text ends with "45th Annual Science Fair"). During the scene where they flip the power on and off, the puff of thick white smoke coming off of one project was actually from that project failing.
- One prominent science fair project (this one made especially for the movie) is entitled "Total Access To All Knowledge Through Computers" and seems to be a project on the Internet.
- When they disarm the bomb at the end, the timer reads 7:16:45, a reference to the first nuclear test, codenamed Trinity, on July 16th, 1945 in New Mexico.
- Extensively filmed in and around Rockland County, New York. Locations included Suffern High School, King's Daughters Library in Haverstraw, and the Orchards of Conklin in Pomona.
External links
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