A real life Tom Clancy novel

Rating: 7/10 (16 January 2001)

`13 Days' is the story of how the White House dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Usually when I write about a film I try to avoid revealing much about the movie. I will deviate from this rule a little for this movie because I hope that all of you are somewhat aware of how the story unfolds. `13 Days' stars Kevin Costner as Kenneth O'Donnell, special assistant to President Kennedy during the crisis. It is the story of how O'Donnell, JFK, RFK, and others made crucial decisions as missile crisis unfolded. All the actors do an excellent job (although Costner's `Bawstan' accent is distracting at first, I laughed whenever he said `Cuber' which was often) and the pacing and production values are top notch. The plot unfolds on many levels and the tension mounts creating a real life Tom Clancy novel. The two air combat scenes are fantastic. The film succeeds wonderfully as a piece of entertainment. It is not too simple and only rarely is melodramatic. In its portrayal of actual events the film is somewhat less successful. I am no Kennedy fan to say the least and cult that has developed around the whole Kennedy family perplexes me. I was sure this movie would be nothing more than the next step on the road to JFK's deification. I was surprised to find it fairly even handed in its treatment of the issues involved. It presents effectively how serious the actions of the Soviet Union were, the worldwide climate at the time and the lack faith in Kenendy after the Bay of Pigs. It also shows what a political animal Kennedy was and makes a joke of how in debt he was to Daley (echoes of current events). Like all historical films this one simplifies a great deal and there are many actions attributed incorrectly to Costner's character to make the film work. Also this movie is another in the long line of films that portray top generals as war hungry dogs that must be kept on a tight leash. I get sick of military leaders being portrayed as trigger-happy cowboys and the scenes where Costner tells individual pilots to lie to their leaders are just silly. The film however highlights the importance of a civilian controlled military and it celebrates the soldiers who risked their lives during the crisis. There are problems with accuracy but this is not work of fiction like `Hurricane' or `The Cradle Will Rock.' This film also raises the issue of faith. The movie is full of religious images and at one point Costner even prays for peace (showing there are no atheist in foxholes or life rafts). It seems odd when in the end all the credit is given to `men of goodwill.' Having said all this I believe this is a valuable film. Any movie that celebrates national service both in the military and in public office cannot be all bad. Also in the era of revisionist history it is encouraging to see a film that highlights the serious nature of the communist threat at that time. It has become fashionable to argue that communist world domination was never a possibility. It is also refreshing to see a President willing to draw a line in the sand when the nation is threatened. While I had some problems with this film it is highly entertaining and any movie that is thrilling while dealing in serious way with such events is quite an achievement in today's Hollywood.