K-19: The Widowmaker

by Bernard Dy

Article Type: Movie Review
Article Date: August 22, 2002

K-19: The Widowmaker

The submarine is a great place to stage a story, be it in play, movie, or book format. War is already a pressure cooker that can draw extraordinary action from ordinary men, and a submarine at war is a crucible, the tiny kind that a chemist blasts with flames to get a reaction. The submarine's physical dimensions facilitate a natural focus on the characters and also add to their woes with the threat of rapid disintegration due to depth or depth charge. On a nuclear submarine a faulty reactor adds another peril. The creators of the movie K-19: The Widowmaker seem to know this, and they don't waste time using these factors to good effect.

Harrison Ford as Captain Alexei Vostrikov

A Deep, Cold War
The world was a different place in 1961, the time K-19 takes place. Russia is behind the United States in the nuclear arms race, even though each country has more than enough nuclear weaponry to destroy the Earth. The Soviets are aware of the American nuclear missile submarines and want, under the policy of mutually assured destruction, to show the Americans they can match the ante by test firing missiles from their own submarine. The platform is the newest flagship of the Soviet submarine force, K-19.

No procurement system is perfect, however, and the Communist system's deficiencies have left K-19 ill prepared for its maiden voyage and critical mission. There are faulty electronics aboard, suppliers stowed the improper safety gear, and the captain, Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford), sacks the nuclear reactor officer for drunkenness, only to find that the replacement, Vadim Radtchenko (Peter Sarsgaard), is a green officer fresh from school. Vostrikov is himself new to K-19, specially assigned to ensure the success of the missile launch. He takes command from Captain Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson), who is demoted to the executive officer because he was unable to complete a successful demonstration of the K-19 launch system to Soviet political officers. The crew, however, is loyal to Polenin.

Liam Neeson as XO, Mikhail Polenin

This nicely sets up several sub plots. There's the technical thrill of seeing the K-19 brave the dangers of the deep, the power struggle between Polenin and Vostrikov, the threat of repercussions if the crew fails to satisfy the government, and potential altercation with the Americans. Director Kathryn Bigelow puts in the obligatory ancillaries to ensure we get the point.

As K-19 readies for departure, Vostrikov's initial tour of the boat reveals several imperfections in its construction, a reactor crewman taps a gauge on the reactor that seems faulty, the crew expresses discontent with the hard-driving and drill-obsessed Vostrikov, and young reactor officer Radtchenko bids his fiancée farewell. We also learn that Vostrikov may be pushing for validation, as the crew muses that he's only there because he married the niece of a politician. If that's not enough to create foreboding, the champagne bottle fails to break against the hull at K-19's christening, and we learn that several men have died during the construction of the boat, thus creating it's nickname, the "Widowmaker." A crucible, indeed.

Peter Sarsgaard as Reactor Officer, Vadim Radtchenko

Steady as She Goes
K-19: The Widowmaker is a grand film because of its complexities, which are smoothly interwoven by Bigelow and crew. The film doesn't get caught looking ludicrous trying to be a macho action film and seems to be comfortable with the fact that there's plenty on the viewer's plate within the confines of K-19. Several critics have actually mentioned the movie in the same sentence with Das Boot, but COMBATSIM.COM's readers may find better associations in The Hunt for Red October or Crimson Tide. Red October contrasted the American way against the Russian way. Crimson Tide highlighted disagreements between the captain and the executive officer. K-19 does a little of both, but retains a largely Russian focus, and one of its subtle goals may be to identify that sub crews regardless of nation share similar challenges and fears.

The Soviet top brass

Some of the plot intricacies are not new, and we've seen elements like this before in other standard thrillers. Elevating K-19 above average are strong directing, a good cast, and some great camera work. Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson bring an appropriate gravity to their roles. Some may criticize the use of Russian accents and favor the Enemy at the Gates approach, where the actors do not emulate accents. It certainly is a little odd, hearing the actors talk differently, but the performances are strong so it's easy to overlook the accents. Perhaps the best performance is by Sarsgaard, a real surprise as the reactor officer Radtchenko.

Bigelow has put together a nice production, and everything seems a comfortable fit. The pacing is good and although K-19 is longer than two hours, it doesn't feel like it. The actors are many, with dozens of supporting roles both on the submarine and off, and each feels like they belong. There are a few exceptions to this, such as the crewman that has a pet mouse aboard; perhaps this really happened, but pets don't sound like something Soviet military frugality and sensibilities would have permitted. Each character acts as part of the crew, and yet each also has an agenda, and Bigelow maintains this ensemble with just the right exposure. The characters are different enough that they're easy to recognize and follow once the film is underway, such as the two captains, the first officer, the political officer, and select key crewmembers.

K19: The boat

Up Periscope
I don't normally take a critical approach to lighting and camera work unless they're really bad, but K-19's film crew deserves compliments. Every scene could be a picture, with main characters nicely centered on the screen, even when they're moving through the tight corridors of the submarine. This is true outside the submarine too, and there are spectacles to see, including one hinted at in the previews of the crew playing soccer on a frozen sea. The camera's movement when panning or sweeping over a scene add a sense of grandeur to the proceedings. In many shots, there is equal respect for the power of man's military might and the power of nature. The special effects are helpful here too, and when the K-19 is near crush depth, sights and sounds of the hull under stress work well, even though we've seen such things in other movies.


Almost Heroes
I don't want to ruin the story, but it's probably not hard to guess that there is some disaster during the K-19 voyage the crew must make sacrifices to overcome. Bigelow's pacing brings it out, each scene and subplot fueling interest and keeping the audience wondering what will happen next. There is one major criticism. Near the end, the film, perhaps feeling it must stay unpredictable, throws in a befuddling surprise twist. The move also finishes with a stilted speech to make the crew seem more honorable; an unnecessary forced feeding. K-19 fortunately, has enough going for it to get past this.

The crew

The Soviet Union kept the story of K-19 secret until the last decade, and in many ways this film is the chance for the submarine's crew to receive recognition for their achievements. How important were their sacrifices? If the movie hasn't veered too far from the history, then the crew was, obviously, able to prevent a possible war, and do so in a way that avoided certain embarrassment for Russia. The crewmembers were ready to address the perceived threats from an enemy, doing their jobs to provide a countermeasure or preferably, a deterrent, to war. When the lid on this crucible is lifted, it's clear that the Russian crew, like most professional soldiers, worked as much for each other as any government. Capitalism and the Communism have their quarrels, but Americans and Russians, are they so different?







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