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Kathryn Bigelow has addressed the United States Department of Defense’s criticism of her latest military drama, A House of Dynamite. After the film landed on Netflix last week, it was reported that the Pentagon had sent out an internal memo, warning officials about its depiction of the U.S.’s nuclear missile defense system. In the film, which tracks the 18 minutes that follow a nuclear missile being launched at the U.S., it is suggested that current missile defenses only have a 50 percent chance of intercepting a missile despite their $50bn price tag. In its memo, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) claims its interceptors “have displayed a 100 percent accuracy rate in testing for more than a decade.” In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bigelow was immediately asked about her reaction to the memo. “It’s interesting. In a perfect world, culture has the potential to drive policy — and if there’s dialogue around the proliferation of nuclear weapons, that is music to my ears, certainly,” she responded. The film’s screenwriter, Noah Oppenheim, added: “As we see it, it’s not a debate between us as filmmakers and the Pentagon. It’s between the Pentagon and the wider community of experts in the space. “Senator Edward Markey or retired general Douglas Lute; journalists like Tom Nichols and Fred Kaplan who’ve covered this issue for decades; the APS, which is a nonpartisan organization of physicists — these are the folks who are coming out and saying what we depict in the film, which is that our current missile defense system is highly imperfect, is accurate.” In an op-ed for MSNBC, Senator Markey argued that the movie was “a wake-up call.” “Long-range missile defense will not protect us. Our only real path to escape nuclear catastrophe lies in reducing global arsenals,” he argued. Meanwhile, The Atlantic’s defense writer Nichols argued that the film’s figure of 61 percent accuracy was “very generous.” In a statement to Bloomberg News, the Pentagon said that it wasn’t consulted about the film, which “does not reflect the views or priorities of this administration.” It said the system “remains a critical component of our national defense strategy, ensuring the safety and security of the American people and our allies.” Bigelow has previously spoken about her decision not to involve the Pentagon, saying on CBS’s Sunday Morning: “I felt that we needed to be more independent. But that being said, we had multiple tech advisers who have worked in the Pentagon. They were with me every day we shot.” Speaking about the impact of her Oscar-winning war films, which include The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, Bigelow told THR: “I just state the truth. In this piece, it’s all about realism and authenticity. Same with Zero Dark Thirty and same with Hurt Locker — even though Hurt Locker was obviously a work of fiction, and this is a work of fiction. For me, these are pieces that lean in hard on realism. You’re inviting an audience into, say, the battledeck of STRATCOM. That’s a place that’s not easily accessible, and so you want it to be authentic and honest. That’s my goal, and I think we achieved it.” After a limited theatrical release, A House of Dynamite drew mixed reviews from viewers on Netflix — many of whom were not fans of the ending. It was a hit with critics, though. In a four-star review for The Independent, Geoffrey Macnab called it “the most entertaining movie about mass destruction since Dr Strangelove.” A House of Dynamite is out now on Netflix.
