Venice 82 interview A House of Dynamite: from Kathryn Bigelow to Idris Elba

A House of Dynamite, in competition at Venice 82, is a political thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Noah Oppenheim. The film imagines a catastrophic scenario and follows White House officials as they rush to manage an imminent missile attack against the United States.

Present at the Venice Film Festival press conference were Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Kathryn Bigelow, and Noah Oppenheim, who answered questions from the press.

"When I choose to make a film, I commit totally—I must believe in the story," explains Bigelow. The film addresses a global issue involving nuclear weapons: "Currently, we are living in a house full of dynamite." Between Bigelow and Oppenheim, it was a solid collaboration; the screenwriter's journalistic background served to leverage specialized knowledge: "We bring people into these rooms of power to understand how the situation might evolve," adds Oppenheim. The film consists of three different episodes imagining the same catastrophic scenario, "with an isolationist approach, which is important to emphasize," says the director. A film that reflects on the world since the beginning of nuclear power, Oppenheim explains: "There are nine countries that possess nuclear arsenals capable of destroying humanity multiple times over. It's a miracle that it hasn't happened yet. We wanted to tell the story of this system in which one individual can authorize their use."

Kathryn Bigelow defends a certain ambiguity in the respective episodic endings: "An invitation to decide what to do with this type of arsenal. I would start by reducing these nuclear weapons as defense. What are we defending? I wonder." Rebecca Ferguson speaks of her great interest in the story: "I understand the fragility of the world we live in. In such a situation, I would show my courage by taking my children on a countryside trip." Jared Harris declares regarding the experience of the character he portrays: "If I were in that situation, I couldn't sleep at night. Perhaps it's a cowardly response, but I'm grateful not to find myself in a potential situation like that." Tracy Letts recounts how in the film there is "a humanity that emerges in unusual moments that represents the strength and beauty of the film: in that terrible moment, decisions are made by human beings."

Idris Elba discusses his character, the protagonist of the last episode—18 minutes in which psychological pressure is at its maximum, "intense and realistic like a documentary." Necessity and humanity emerge thanks to a superlative screenplay, adds Elba: "An incredibly structured screenplay despite necessary bursts of improvisation."

Kathryn Bigelow thanks the fantastic crew who worked on the film's production; the work done on editing and the soundtrack intensified the human operational side in the imagined scenario. "I wanted to be honest, authentic. Where are we with the nuclear reserve? The fate of the world is based on these officials who operate in very tight timeframes," she emphasizes: "We need to be more informed about the nuclear issue—that's the message and hope of the film. If we want to survive, and I suppose we all do."