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THIRTEEN DAYS (PG-13)

Reviewed January 18, 2000 - Check out the Thirteen Days Website.

Studio Synopsis: In Thirteen Days, the power and peril of the American presidency is dramatically explored by director Roger Donaldson, who captures the urgency, suspense and paralyzing chaos of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The alarming escalation of events during those fateful days brought to the fore such public figures as Robert McNamara, Adlai Stevenson, Theodore Sorenson, Andrei Gromyko, Anatoly Dobrynin, McGeorge Bundy, Dean Acheson, Dean Rusk, and General Curtis LeMay. In addition many others -- politicians, diplomats and soldiers -- were on the front line of the showdown. In Thirteen Days, we see all of these people, -- and, above all -- President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) and his brother Bobby (Steven Culp), through the eyes of a trusted presidential aide and confidante, Kenneth P. O'Donnell (Kevin Costner). O'Donnell, who served as Special Assistant to the President, was a key White House insider with a birdseye view of the crisis. His office was next door to the President's Oval Office, and he was a major behind the scenes figure in the Kennedy White House. In the film, O'Donnell serves as a conduit to this gripping dramatization of one of the most dangerous moments in modern history.

Fuzzydog Review: A tightly spun, effectively executed political-suspense drama, Thirteen Days is an interesting history lesson and an entertaining thriller all in one.  Though Kevin Costner gets top marquee billing here, the lead role is really shared between Costner, Greenwood and Culp, with all deserving high marks for their performances.  The Cuban Missile Crisis is a weighty issue, but director Roger Donaldson manages it well, cranking the tension meter up higher and higher as events unfold while staying true to the events of the day.  More importantly though, Donaldson manages to portray the players in this historical drama as the flawed human beings that they were.  Overcoming mistakes, misunderstandings and doubts is what makes leaders, and it's what makes you admire the leaders portrayed in this film.  All in all, there's just lots to like about Thirteen Days...see it, learn, and enjoy...