Thirteen Days

December 10, 2004

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 145 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In Thirteen Days, we experience the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 from inside the White House. This true story provides higher drama and more intensity than any fiction. The world came dangerously close to World War 3 and perhaps the total destruction of the planet via nuclear missiles, and this movie walks us through it from the point of view of the ultimate insider.

Thirteen Days

That ultimate insider is JFK’s “Special Aid to the President” Kenneth P. O’Donnell, played by Kevin Costner. Bruce Greenwood plays John F. Kennedy and Steven Culp plays brother Robert Kennedy. Along with Bobby, O’Donnell is one of JFK’s most trusted confidants and has a ringside view of the entire crisis as we live it through his eyes.

For those who are too young to have lived through it, or remember it, and who flunked U.S. History, the Cuban Missile Crisis took place in October 1962. A U-2 spy plane took pictures of Russian missile installations being constructed in Cuba. As these missiles could reach the U.S. in a matter of minutes they were considered first strike weapons, and the U.S. absolutely could not tolerate their presence. The events that follow constitute what could perhaps be called the highest stakes game of “chicken” ever played with neither side willing to back off and stand down for several days.

During this time we came closer to nuclear war than at any point in history. The movie portrays Kennedy, his brother and O’Donnell as being the young new Presidential team looking for the correct solution to the problem without blowing up the world while the Joint Chiefs and the old guard just wanted to zip into Cuba and blow all of the missile installations up. That is something that JFK felt would necessitate a response from the Russians that would start an escalation that would likely end up in armegeddon. Even with tons of now declassified documents to draw from, it’s tough to say how accurate that portrayal is overall. Although pretty much historically accurate, some dramatic license was used here and there. However, one thing is for certain and that is his handling of this event is what made John F. Kennedy one of the most popular Presidents in history.

The film is well acted and does a very good job of recreating the time period. It starts a bit slow, and early on I thought it was lacking in it’s ability to truly grab the intensity that surrounded the events, but it got much better as the story progressed. Costner’s performance also worried me early on. His attempt at a Boston accent initially was like fingernails on a chalkboard. I don’t know if his performance improved later in the film or if I just got used to it. But by the end of the film, it wasn’t bothering me at all.

We’re giving this film a 4 star rating, but I must say this is one of those movies that makes me wish we had half stars. There are no car chases, shoot outs or tah tahs like we normally look forward to, but this is a great story, and an important story and a well done film. And perhaps more importantly we did enjoy it. So let’s just call it a rather unenthusiastic 4 star rating. It’s kinda like eating something that’s good for you and discovering you like it even if it’s not as good as a cheeseburger.

Posted by Billy Bob | Filed Under 4 Stars, Bruce Greenwood, Drama, Dylan Baker, Kevin Costner, PG-13, Steven Culp, Theatrical, Tim Kelleher