As the fortieth president, he so completely defined the 1980s, they are often generically referred to as “The Reagan Years.” He also greatly altered the course of history, turning the tide of the Cold War, in favor of the Western free world. Yet, despite his popularity and success, Ronald Reagan’s legacy remains highly contested. Director Sean McNamara and screenwriter Howard Klausner dramatize the actor-turned-political leader’s life, from his formative years, through his history-making presidency in Reagan, which releases today in theaters.
To help shape and inform the narrative, Klausner utilized historian Paul Kengor’s non-fiction book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism as a roadmap, adopting Kengor’s vision of Reagan as a life-long Cold Warrior. Ironically, he uses a semi-disgraced retired KGB agent, Viktor Petrovich, to narrate Reagan’s rise in flashbacks, bemoaning how his warnings went unheeded by the Kremlin, to the up-and-coming Putin-era politician seeking his insight.
A fictional composite, Petrovich initially flagged Reagan as a cause for concern during the 1950s, when the actor served as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). While in office, Reagan fought off attempts to merge SAG into a Communist-controlled union. Indeed, the future president forged his anti-Communist principles while serving as a union leader.
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Unfortunately, his acting career suffered during this time, but at least he met the love of his life, Nancy Davis. Their lifelong romance represents the film’s most important secondary theme, subordinate only to his defense of his anti-Communist, democratic ideals. They shared some tough times, but their fortunes turned around when General Electric hired Reagan as their spokesman and goodwill ambassador. Essentially, Reagan functioned like a non-partisan politician, so it was easy to transition into an electoral candidate.
McNamara and Klausner will impress politically savvy viewers with their attention to detail and the volume of significant historical events they cram into the film, resulting in a whirlwind, kaleidoscopic viewing experience. The audience constantly meets new people and witnesses key moments in Reagan’s life. The film only slows down every so often to take stock of the Reagans’ relationship and how much strength he drew from the First Lady.
McNamara and company certainly approach their subject from a sympathetic perspective, but they never gloss over the mistakes he made. Mena Suvari might seem like an unlikely choice to play his first wife, Jane Wyman, but she does not look completely miscast during scenes of their marital strife. Regardless, the failure of their marriage clearly troubled the future president.
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Some critics might argue the film conveniently overlooks Reagan’s tempestuous relationship with his first daughter, Patti Davis, but none of the president’s grown children play a significant role in the film. Once he embraces politics, the only private time it depicts is that which he shares with Nancy. In terms of politics, the film also devotes appropriate time to the Iran-Contra kerfuffle, but perhaps the film’s greatest oversight (and arguably the darkest hour of Reagan’s presidency) would be the Beirut Marine Corps Barracks bombing.
Nevertheless, Reagan the film serves up a great deal of solid Cold War history. With the help of a few mild prosthetics, Robert Davi bears an eerie resemblance to General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev. [He also recorded two standards for the soundtrack: “This Town” and “Nancy (with the Laughing Face).”]
Dennis Quaid even more closely resembles President Reagan. He perfectly captures the Gipper’s vocal cadences and aptly expresses his sly wit. Even though Penelope Ann Miller looks and sounds far less like Nancy Reagan on a surface level, she maybe best captures the essence and mannerisms of the famously protective First Lady. She develops poignantly tender chemistry with Quaid and acutely conveys the pain of caring for a loved one stricken with Alzheimer’s. Miller contributes a terrific performance, but she probably will not get the consideration she deserves, for ideological reasons.
Regardless, political junkies should be amused seeing which administration figures made the cut and how much respective screen time they get. Surprisingly, Derek Richardson gets far more on-screen attention playing speechwriter and future (former) Congressman Dana Rohrbacher than is allotted to Nick Searcy as Chief of Staff James Baker. Ordinarily, nobody would consider Xander Berkeley a dead-ringer for Secretary of State George Shultz, but somehow, he very much looks the part in his Oval Office scenes (whereas his colorful predecessor, Al Haig, never makes an appearance).
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Plus, for Democrats out there, Dan Lauria masterfully channels Tip O’Neil’s old school back-slapping charm. Yet, Jon Voight serves up one of the film’s most memorable performances, digging deeply into the spirit of Russian fatalism, in the fictional role of Petrovich. Amongst the other international figures depicted, Lesley-Anne Down is appropriately proper and stately playing Margaret Thatcher, while Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa briefly portrays Japanese PM Yasuhiro Nakasone.
Regardless of viewers’ political biases, Reagan maintains a remarkably brisk pace, especially for a nearly two-and-a-half-hour political-historical drama. McNamara covers a lot of ground, but the Reagans’ love story grounds the film, thoroughly humanizing the First Couple. This vivid reminder of the Cold War, and Reagan’s resolve to end it on American terms, comes at an opportune time, especially considering the ongoing assault on Ukraine, orchestrated by a former KGB officer. If nothing else, it is refreshing to revisit an era when the President knew how to land a one-liner. Recommended for the foreign policy lessons and the central romance, Reagan opens today (8/30) in theaters.
Grade: B+
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Here’s the trailer of the film.