A House of Dynamite is a hit on Netflix, but audiences are enraged by the ending

After the Venice premiere, Kathryn Bigelow’s narrative choices are controversial, even if critics reward the tense thriller on Rottone Tomatoes.

After having captured the attention of the public at the Venice Film Festival, A House of Dynamitethe new effort by the Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelowdoing discuss users of the streamer, fascinated by the high-voltage thriller, but perplexed by the ending.

Written by the former president of NBC News Noah Oppenheim, A House of Dynamite recounts the reactions of the White House and the American Defense in the face of a nuclear missile launched by an unidentified foreign nation targeting Chicago. The film, a masterpiece in tension managementfollows the 18 minutes following the launch of the weapon from three different perspectives: the Situation Room of the White House, the United States Strategic Command and, finally, the president himself, played by a very human Idris Elba. All while time is running out and the moment of impact, which could potentially destroy the city, approaches.

Cast stellare which includes Rebecca Ferguson, Idris Elba, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, Moses Ingram, Greta Lee and Jason Clarke, with Willa Fitzgerald and Kaitlyn Dever in small roles.

Why is the audience bothered by the ending?

Our review of A House of Dynamite analyzes the perfect clockwork of the Netflix film that ticks away in one of the dangers of the present approaching it from different points of view.

But how does he reveal Tomsguide.comwhat bothers some viewers is the choice of a open endingwhich in fact shows nothing, leaving the public with the task of filling in the gaps by denouncing the danger of the proliferation of nuclear weapons without, however, showing its effects. Three times, we watch the clock tick as the missile and its devastating payload approach Chicago, but we are denied a vision of what will happen. Right before the president (Idris Elba) gives his order – whether to respond to the attack or avoid global nuclear war – the film cuts away. The actual impact of the missile is never shown, and we never find out who launched it.

As Katyryn Bigelow explained to Tumdu of Netflix, his was a thoughtful choice to focus on nuclear proliferation itself, without shifting attention to a single nation.

“The antagonist is the system we built to end the world in one fell swoop”he said.

The reaction of users on X and Reddit was not long in coming.

“I was glued to the TV, then with that ending I prayed for the atomic bomb to hit me”wrote one X user. “Must be in the running for worst ending of all time.”

“No one wants to hear the same story three times and have it end with no ending. It’s sad that so many good actors got caught up in this stuff.”said another. “The director annoys the spectators three times and then leaves”.

Beyond a few isolated voices, A House of Dynamite it was rewarded by both critics and audiences, obtaining a solid 79%. Rotten Tomatoeswhich becomes 77% in the case of the public.