There are more than a few bold-faced names who show up in “War Game,” capturing a simulation of what would happen in the event of an insurrection in the vein of what occurred on January 6th, 2021 in the U.S., but the ones to keep an eye on are Kris Goldsmith and Janessa Goldbeck, two recent army vets that play key roles in facilitating the scenario, Goldbeck is part of the team tasked with throwing curveballs into the unfolding governmental nightmare from a control room, parsing out the information that the president and a group of advisers will need to make threat assessments and push worst-case scenarios to see their reaction, drawn to participating in the event after she’s seen how her own father has been increasingly receptive to QAnon conspiracy theories about a brewing civil war. Meanwhile, Goldsmith plays the leader of the Red Cell, sharing in common with the firebrand he plays a history in the military that left him disillusioned when there ended up being no justification for his tours of duty in Iraq, only he still serves his country today by participating in the exercise, which will have its results disseminated among current top U.S. officials, while his faux alter ego is part of a militia called the Order of Columbus that has organized the storming of the Capitol. Goldsmith admits to co-directors Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber that he once tried to take his life, given a severe bout of PTSD and his role in unnecessary combat, but has a renewed sense of purpose as he’s seen so many like him targeted with propaganda that suggests the country is in need of saving by all means necessary.
Events in “War Game” may play out as anyone who has followed the steady drip of information that has come out since that tragic day in American history, but what is far more unexpected are the uniquely 21st century issues Moss and Gerber raise that have put democracy in peril, observing in real time what former Montana governor Steve Bullock and a coterie of other red state Democrats such as former South Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp and Alabama senator Doug Jones, along with nonpartisan military vets, would do in a crisis. The film draws a considerable amount of tension from the situation itself, positing that Bullock’s President Hotham has won reelection by the thinnest of margins, placing him in control of the government and the nation’s military as his challenger Strickland, largely a presence via tweets, makes claims that the election results are tainted and urges his supporters – most notably in the armed forces to protest the results. However, as those assembled have to invoke parts of the law that they’ve never had to consider before and the insurrection looks more like a violent coup, with officers defying the chain of command and varying levels of violence at capitols beyond the one in D.C., the film opens up a fascinating consideration about disinformation when Goldsmith can be seen with the Red Cell squad making memes and doctoring footage that will push more support amongst militias and pollute the information gathering that the government can do to make informed decisions, having only slightly more intel than the general public as people throughout the system are busy tamping down threats in their own backyards and rely on the same news channels and social media feeds that everyone else does.
Filmed with gliding camerawork a la potential World War III thrillers such as “Crimson Tide” and filled with former government officials who have found internet fame as part of the resistance to the Trump Administration, from whistleblower Alexander Vindman around as an observer and Peter Strozek delivering news to the president that the insurrection is underway, there is definitely a sex appeal to “War Game” that might come as a surprise, but anyone who has followed Moss’ work on such films as “Boys State” (co-directed with Amanda McBaine) and “The Overnighters” will know there’s going to be more to the story and with his “Full Battle Rattle” co-director Gerber, the filmmaker moves back and forth between the personal reasoning that’s brought the participants together with their debates in the situation room to truly reflect the dynamic conversations happening there. When final decisions are made with no small amount of group deliberation, the ongoing power of democracy simply within the room to stand up to scrutiny inspires, and although the most prominent inevitably get credited for the rise and fall of nations, “War Game” reflects the unheralded such as Goldbeck and Goldsmith that will ultimately determine its fate. “War Game” may deal in hypotheticals, but it has a way of making the unimaginable feel real too, for better or worse.
“War Game” will screen again at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26th at 11:30 am at the Redstone Cinemas 2 in Park City.
