Focusing on the stories of Middle-American families in the aftermath of a Nuclear attack, this film follows a long heritage of films depicting the effects of Nuclear Fallout.Sadly, this one isn't terribly good, especially if one has seen earlier treatment of the same material (The War Game, for example). Far too often
one is reminded that this is a made-for-TV movie. The film is made as if the only way to make someone learn about Nuclear Fallout is to pander: there is a vast cast of characters, each with their own melodrama, so everyone can relate so something... which ends up making its 2 long hours a foggy mess.Still, a few moments manage to be actual cinema, especially a moment where, with Russian missiles incoming, a mother refuses to stop making her bed, and has to be dragged screaming into the basement/family bomb shelter. Despite some shocking and honest treatment of material, this film still plays more as melodrama than as a social commentary.
October 24, 2007
