February 11 movie: Seven Days to Noon. Post-war drama about a British military scientist who has a crisis of conscience and decides he can't allow his life's work to be part of the war machine. So he steals a small nuclear warhead and sends a note to the Prime Minister announcing that if Britain doesn't disarm by Sunday at noon, he'll blow up himself, Parliament and the center of London.
This movie was excellent. I can't believe I had never heard of it before. The portrayal of the scientist by Barry Jones was superb. It would have been easy to make him a raving lunatic. Instead he was a principled man driven to desperation, who gradually unravels as the movie progresses. Watching him wander around London carrying a nuke in a little suitcase, I found myself rooting both for him and against him.
A calm, documentary style heightened the tension, in particular the evacuation of London. I loved the way they moved through the crowd, catching snippets of conversation. One scene in particular stood out: a man working the line of evacuees, trying to sell hotel rooms outside the city. He was only on screen for a few seconds and his character was more vivid than some starring roles I've seen. Or a pair of soldiers annoyed about having to work late, complaining about flipping this and flipping that. There were so many moments like that. The movie felt like being in the middle of a vibrant, real world.
I really can't say enough good things about this movie.
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