September 27, 2024

Written by Juliana Simone

This movie is brilliant. So many people I know had already seen it and told me to go. I did tonight. Kudos to the stars and crew of this incredibly moving film. Walking in, I expected it to be good, considering the subject matter, in addition to the Facebook censorship of its marketing. After some publicity this appears to have been settled now. What I did not expect was how exceptional “Reagan” would be, nor how many times tears would roll down my face.

What this movie shows is what an amazing man of strength, resilience, faith and patriotism, Ronald Wilson Reagan was as the United States of America’s fortieth President. He defines what ‘one in a million’ means and that number is too small. Actor Dennis Quaid, who I always love to think of as the confident pilot in Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff” film adaptation, who asks, “who’s the best pilot you know,” surprised me with his performance as he brought us in closer with each scene to seeing Reagan and not himself.

All of the casting is notable. Jon Voight made a low key appearance as the Russian who recalls how his country perceived Reagan from his first major win as Governor of California to his two terms as America’s Commander in Chief, and how he studied the man since his childhood through his years as an actor. It is the correct narrative that Voight does well. There are some stark parallels to former President and current republican President nominee, Donald J. Trump presented in his lines throughout the film.

The key to great casting is that it’s seamless, in that no one is in the show that shouldn’t be or who is too recognizable to be seen as a different character. Long-time actress Leslie-Anne Down is unrecognizable as the late great Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher.

The political research is also outstanding. I was just old enough to vote for Reagan, twice, and it was engaging to see so many names I remembered who were in his administration and newsworthy at the time that I had not thought about for some time. The scenes with Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the Soviet Union before its dissolution in 1991 and before today’s Russian President, Vladimir Putin, put viewers right within their tough negotiations and their friendly moments as two members of the human race first.

The cinematography, by Christian Sebaldt, is stunning throughout. Action scenes of the attempted assassination of Reagan, historic scenes of the fortieth President in front of the Berlin Wall, and the landscape shots are all visually engrossing and remarkable.

Writer Klausner, does a fine job of getting into the script all of Reagan’s most famous quotes which defines who he was in terms of sensibility and likability.

The ending is sublimely beautiful. Reagan, the cowboy, knowing he has to concede to his security man, John Barletta, he can’t ride his beloved horse anymore due to his oncoming Alzheimer condition, rides it one last time on his property in Santa Barbara. Barletta, played by Trevor Donovan, handles this role with the amount of tenderness that must have been necessary in this real life situation.

Stay in your seats after this emotional finish to see an impressive collection of authentic photographs that show during the credit roll. Mikhail Gorbachev running his hand on President Reagan’s coffin is especially poignant, as well as the former First Lady Nancy Reagan resting her head on his casket. For those of us who remember this televised coverage, she wrapped her arms around him from the outside for a long time before being gently taken away.

Directed by Sean McNamara. Written by Howard Klausner based on the book, “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism” by Paul Kengor.