Culture Gabfest Netflix Goes Nuclear with A House of Dynamite Edition
Oct 29, 2025
Sam Adams, a film critic for Slate, and Amy Nicholson from the Los Angeles Times delve into a gripping cinematic discussion. They dissect Kathryn Bigelow’s tense nuclear thriller, A House of Dynamite, debating its suspense and technical craft. Next, they explore Nia DaCosta’s fresh take on Ibsen’s Hedda with Tessa Thompson's captivating performance. Finally, they analyze the chilling documentary The Perfect Neighbor, revealing the emotional weight of police bodycam footage in a community tragedy.
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Looped Time Heightens Procedural Tension
- A House of Dynamite uses overlapping 18-minute segments to heighten suspense and reveal more each loop.
- The structure trades conventional character focus for an intricate procedural puzzle box approach.
Technique Trumps Depth In Bigelow's Thriller
- Sam praises Bigelow's staging and editing as technically superb at building visceral suspense.
- He argues the thriller frame limits deeper exploration of nuclear catastrophe's broader implications.
Competence Masks Nuclear Fragility
- The film presents competent technocrats managing nuclear crisis, creating a cold reminder of how fragile deterrence is.
- Bigelow seems less interested in current partisan politics than in the enduring instability of nuclear systems.