Engrossing

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 2001)

A docudrama about the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. This could have been a boring history lesson but it's anything but that. The film moves quickly despite its length (135 minutes). All the characters are introduced with subtitles which helps immensely in understanding who they are and their perspective in the crisis. The direction is quick and assured and the music score loud and thrilling. With one exception, all the acting is great. Bruce Greenwood as JFK and Robert Culp as Robert Kennedy are especially fine. They aren't dead ringers for the Kennedys but get the accents and portrayals down perfect. The only bad performance is by Kevin Costner--his accent is way off (I was born and raised in MA, so trust me) and he just gives a dull, by-the-numbers performance. Still, everything surrounding him is great so he doesn't really hurt the film. Well worth seeing. Also, it's frightening to realize how close we came to nuclear war.