Deterrence (1999)

Director:

Rod Lurie

Writer (WGA):

Rod Lurie (written by)

Release Date:

10 March 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Every President has a defining moment. Walter Emerson is about to have his.

Plot:

The President of the United States must deal with an international military crisis while confined to a Colorado diner during a freak snowstorm

Plot Keywords:

Diner | Iraq | Colorado | Nuclear War | Prejudice

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Kevin Pollak	...	President Walter Emerson
Timothy Hutton	...	Marshall Thompson
Sheryl Lee Ralph	...	Gayle Redford
Clotilde Courau	...	Katie
Badja Djola	...	Harvey
Sean Astin	...	Ralph
Mark Thompson	...	Gerald Irvin
Michael Mantell	...	Taylor Woods
Kathryn Morris	...	Lizzie Woods
Ryan Cutrona	...	Agent Dexter
Joe McCrackin	...	Agent Williams
Scoot Powell	...	Noah
J. Scott Shonka	...	Captain Coddington
Jim Curley	...	Admiral Miller (as James Curly)
Rigg Kennedy	...	Howard

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario) | Netherlands:6 | Argentina:13 | USA:R | Italy:T

Company:

Battleplan Productions

Trivia:

The combination to unlock the nuclear suitcase is 08061945 (August 6, 1945), which is the date the United States dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): President Emerson speculates whether the retinal scanning device has been updated with his retinal pattern, replacing that of his predecessor. However, in order to do so he would have had to have his retinal pattern recorded, which is an unusual event which most people do not routinely experience, and logically he would be likely to remember whether it had happened or not.

Soundtrack:

Ghosts

A legal and political reality TODAY!

Director & writer Lurie, a West Point grad (Ring Knockers, where are YOUR reviews?) hits the legalities of an un-elected successor president (Gerald Ford would serve as the precedent) facing a military crisis leading to his making a decision regarding waging war or committing an act of deterrence.

The power of the executive branch is 100% on (as political junkie Lurie's education shows us the mechanisms of political power during a military crisis). The military component is also 100% on point.

Mr. Lurie's first film is written for a small budget and could have been a two-act play--but the financial limits aside this is one fine film. It is prescient as we face war with Iraq once again. Mr. Lurie is a writer/director I'm going to follow. His second film, The Contender, is as powerful a political drama as any top film could hope to be. Imagine the sexual politics of a Clinton applied to Margaret Chase Smith.

Ignore the reviews: watch this film and make up your own mind.