Put Jeff Daniels, Jared Harris, and J.K. Simmons in the same movie, and you’ve created interest - at least among those who value capable acting. In The Brink of War, Daniels plays Ronald Reagan; Harris appears as Mikhail Gorbachev, and Simmons portrays George Shultz, Reagan’s Secretary of State.
In 1986, Reagan and Gorbachev met in Reykjavik for a summit meant to tackle issues of nuclear disarmament.
The Brink of War offers a dry, sometimes prosaic account of a meeting disrupted by Reagan's insistence on including a human rights discussion Gorbachev had no interest in having.
Gorbachev also objected to Reagan’s plan to build a Star Wars defense system for the US., even after Reagan suggested that Gorbachev could use US technology to build his own missile shield.
The summit failed, but a year later it produced the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. That means the movie must focus less on a triumphant outcome than on the back-and-forth between the two leaders.
Aside from Simmons Shultz, who cautions Reagan, not to miss an unprecedented opportunity, the supporting cast doesn’t have much to do.
Nancy Reagan (Hope Davis) remained at home, staying in phone contact with the president. Branka Katic portrays Raisa Gorbacheva. She accompanied her husband, but mostly remained on board the ship that brought Gorbachev to Iceland. Occasionally, she came ashore for photo ops.
Rather than playing like a momentous historical moment, the film, written and directed by Michael Russell Gunn, unfolds like a determined recreation.
As for Daniels, make-up can’t quite turn him into a Reagan lookalike, but he masters Reagan’s delivery and offers moments of hard-headed conviction and easy wit.
In all, the movie's style feels musty and dated, as if it has been shackled to the need for period authenticity and seriousness, which is understandable but less than exciting.
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