K-19: The Widowmaker
MOVIE DETAILS
Rating: 6.7 out of 10
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writer: Louis Nowra, Christopher Kyle
Star: Harrison Ford, Sam Spruell, Peter Stebbings
Genres: Drama/History/Thriller/War
Release Date: July 19, 2002 (United States)
K-19: The Widowmaker
Movies with submarines in them think like chess: the longer it goes on, the fewer moves there can be. “K-19: The Widowmaker” is in a tradition that includes “Das Boot” and “The Hunt for Red October” and goes all the way back to “Run Silent, Run Deep.” The variables are always oxygen, water pressure and enemy. Can the men breathe, will the sub implode, will depth charges destroy it?
Technically, the submarine K-19 is not at war; so there are no depth charges but there is a deadlier threat: Will the onboard reactor melt down, causing a nuclear explosion which could start a world war? It’s 1961 height-of-the-Cold-War stuff here (loosely based on fact): A new Soviet nuclear sub is commissioned before it is shipshape; it sails on its first mission as a bucketful of problems waiting to happen. Many of these problems are known to its original captain, Polenin (Liam Neeson). But when he insists after a test run that the submarine is not seaworthy technically he is joined aboard by Capt. Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford), who outranks him and is married to the niece of a member of the Politburo.
Both men are good naval officers, and Polenin does his best to work with Vostrikov; his men consider Polenin their captain but go along with seniority even after Vostrikov orders a dive that tests the ultimate limits of how deep they can go without being crushed. (Scenes like this rivets popping and hull creaking are obligatory in submarine movies.) Most of these big scenes take place in close quarters at this command desk where dramatic lighting illuminates faces and eyes of men who are waiting for this shell around them just to crack already. By casting both leading roles with such authoritative actors, “K-19” adds another level of tension; if one of these men were dominant and the other uncertain, there would be a clear dramatic path ahead but since both Vostrikov and Polenin are inflexible, self-confident and determined, their rivalry approaches a standoff.
The mission of this sub is to demonstrate to spy planes from Kennedy administration that Soviet Union possesses new nuclear submarine capability. The voyage of this sub is shadowed by U.S. destroyer not unwelcome; since purpose of this mission is to be seen. However, when there is an accident with one onboard nuclear reactors, game: If reactor explodes and takes out U.S. ship; will that event be read as act of war in all ensuing confusion? K-19 could surface and put its men in lifeboats but for Vostrikov thought United States capturing new technology is unthinkable thus options are repair reactor or dive boat to destruction.
More problems occurred. The original K-19 reactor officer has been replaced by a new graduate of the naval academy who is scared to death. The crew comes up with a quick fix for the overheating reactor core, but it involves men going into the sealed compartment and welding pipes to divert the onboard water supply. They should wear protective radiation suits, but “The warehouse was out,” they are told. “They sent us chemical suits instead.” Neeson: “We might as well wear raincoats.” The scenes involving repair of the reactor are excruciating, and director Kathryn Bigelow creates a taut counterpoint between the men who take 10-minute shifts in the high-radiation zone, and growing tension between Ford and Neeson. Footage involving radiation sickness is harrowing. A mutiny is not unthinkable. And meanwhile, in Moscow, K-19’s sudden radio silence inspires dark suspicions that the sub has been captured, or given away by traitors.
The physical limitations of a submarine create technical difficulties for filmmakers–who can only move their cameras back and forth within the narrow tube. So there’s claustrophobia here to heighten tension; we get a sense of a small group of men working desperately together under pressure of death. “K-19” draws out suspense about as far as possible; Bigelow (“Point Break,” “Strange Days”) is an expert technician who never steps wrong, and knows how to exploit personal qualities of Ford and Neeson to add another level of uncertainty.
It’s rare for a big-budget Hollywood production to be seen entirely through eyes of foreigners–and rarer still for actors like Neeson and Ford to spend an entire role with Russian accents. There isn’t even token role for an American character; movie treats Soviets not as enemies but as characters we’re supposed to identify with; same approach allowed us to care about German U-boat crew in “Das Boot.” Are Ford and Neeson, both so recognizable, convincing as Russians? Convincing enough; we accept accents after a few minutes, and get on with the story. Fact that both men seem unyielding is crucial, and fact that Vostrikov may be putting political considerations above lives of his men adds additional dimension.
There is one surprise in the movie, a decision having nothing to do with the reactor, which depends entirely on ability of characters to act convincingly under enormous pressure; casting stars of roughly equal weight helps it to work.
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