K-19: The Widowmaker

Plot synopsis:
In 1961, the Soviet Union launches its first ballistic missile nuclear submarine, the K-19, commanded by Captain Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford), aided by executive officer Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson). Polenin, the original captain, and the crew have served together for some time, but Vostrikov's appointment is alleged to have been aided by his wife's political connections, as well as Polenin's tendency to put the crew's morale and safety before the pride of the Soviet Union. During his first inspection, Vostrikov discovers the reactor officer to be drunk and asleep on duty and sacks him, ordering Polenin to request a replacement.
The new reactor officer, Vadim Radtchenko (Peter Sarsgaard), arrives direct from nuclear school, fresh from the naval academy. Before the launch, the medical officer is killed when struck by an oncoming truck, and is replaced by the command's foremost medical officer, an army officer, never having been out to sea and prone to motion sickness. During the official launch of the K-19, the bottle of champagne fails to break when it strikes the bow, known to be a sign of ill fortune.
The crew's performance improves and their first mission starts. The K-19 is to surface in the Arctic to fire an unarmed ballistic missile as a test, then to patrol a zone in the Atlantic within range of New York City and Washington D.C. To test the submarine's limits, Vostrikov orders the K-19 to submerge past its maximum operational depth of 250 meters to its "crush depth" (300 meters), then surface rapidly at full-speed to break through the Arctic pack-ice, estimated at no more than one metre thick. Polenin regards this maneuver as dangerous and storms off the bridge. Scraping along the underside of the ice, the K-19 breaks through with no apparent damage. The test missile is launched successfully.
On the second part of its mission, a pipe carrying coolant to the reactor cooling system springs a leak and then bursts completely. Polenin and Vostrikov are informed that once the nuclear reactor reaches 1000 °C, the nuclear reactor will explode. So close to New York it will cause the US to launch against Russia. Control rods are inserted to stop the reactor, but without coolant the reactor temperature continues to rise rapidly. Polenin and Radtchenko learn back-up coolant systems are not installed. The K-19 surfaces to contact fleet command about the accident and await orders. The cable for the long-range transmitter antenna on the conning tower, however, is damaged. Vostrikov assumes his surfacing maneuver in the Arctic caused the damage.
An engineering team conceives a plan to rig a makeshift coolant system, but Polenin discovers the submarine has been provided with chemical suits rather than radiation suits. The first group emerges vomiting and heavily blistered; the second and third teams succeed in cooling the reactor, but many are severely ill with radiation poisoning. As radiation levels slowly rise inside the ship, the submarine surfaces and most of the crewmen are ordered topside.
Vostrikov is informed that a helicopter is approaching, but it is a United States Navy helicopter from a nearby destroyer. Asking if the K-19 requires assistance, Vostrikov tells the destroyer "no" and refuses to allow the Americans anywhere near K-19. Back in the Soviet Union, the government worries about the condition of the K-19.
Making its way toward a group of Diesel submarines in the south, its pipework ruptures and the temperature begins to rise once again, forcing Vostrikov to dive and quell a mutiny. Radtchenko, who earlier panicked and backed out from joining the repair crews, bravely enters the reactor area and commences a second repair attempt. He is successful, but ultimately doomed to die from radiation poisoning. Captain Vostrikov drags him from the reactor.
The K-19 finally reaches the Diesel submarines, however, the Soviet leadership orders him to confine the crew on the submarine until a freighter can pick them up. Knowing it would be too dangerous to stay, Vostrikov orders the crew to be evacuated to the Diesel submarines, despite knowing he will most likely lose his command and be sent to a gulag. After the incident, Captain Vostrikov is tried for endangering the mission and disobeying a direct order, but Polenin comes to his defense, resulting in charges being dropped.
Later in 1989, an aged Captain Vostrikov meets Polenin on the anniversary of the day they were rescued. The commanders enter a cemetery where K-19 survivors have met since the incident. Vostrikov is visibly moved as he greets the men and informs them that he nominated the crewmen who died from radiation poisoning — 28 in total — for the Hero of the Soviet Union award, but was told the honor was reserved for combat veterans.

Tags: suspenseful, historical

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