K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER

One of history's little secrets that could have ended the world

By Abbie Bernstein     July 19, 2002

It's no surprise to hear that the former Soviet Union kept a lid on the events that serve as the basis for K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER for 28 years. Nobody really likes to talk about an accident that not only claimed many lives but could also have easily caused a larger catastrophe and conceivably touched off WWIII. While license has been taken with characterizations, there's enough fact here to create a real chill. Add to that a muscular sense of storytelling, a director with a flair for vivid visuals and two extremely authoritative lead performances, and the result is a gripping drama that engages you for its duration and leaves you impressed and somewhat worried when it's over.

In 1961, the Soviet government is determined to put K-19, the flagship of its nuclear submarine fleet, into action. The strategy (according to the film) is to perform a missile test near the Arctic Circle that would let U.S. President Kennedy know that the U.S.S.R. has the weaponry to retaliate against an American first strike. There are a few problems. The sub isn't quite seaworthy and her captain, Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson), insists on taking the time to make the necessary adjustments. The Party leaders insist that Polenin is wrong in putting his men and his ship above politics and assign the more ambitious, hard-driving Capt. Alexi Vostrikov (Harrison Ford) to K-19, with Polenin demoted to executive officer. Before the submarine even leaves dry dock, there are several accidental deaths. K-19 earns the nickname "the widowmaker," but the crew are still all patriotic enough to be gung-ho at the prospect of defending their country.

Vostrikov is a severe and risk-taking taskmaster, but his tactics seem to pay off. The missile launch is a success and Polenin looks forward to taking the sub back to Russia for repairs. Command instead orders K-19 to begin patrolling the waters off the east coast of the United States. Then, with a U.S. destroyer in the water not too far away, one of the sub's nuclear reactors develops a leak. In addition to the danger posed to the crew, a meltdown would detonate the warheads on board, catching the U.S. Navy destroyer in its wake which would likely be seen as a nuclear first strike.



The audience knows that WWIII did not break out in 1961, but Christopher Kyle's script, from a story by Louis Nowra, keeps us guessing as to how it will be averted. Director Kathryn Bigelow simultaneously provides the sweaty, confined, high-pressure atmosphere of the submarine and a sense of mass, might and grandeur. When the K-19 breaks through the polar icecap, it's a moment that inspires awe at the collision of something manmade and massive impacting an even larger natural mass.

Another collision that is continually fascinating to watch is the one between Vostrikov and Polenin, who begin with genuine respect but become increasingly adversarial as Vostrikov thinks Polenin's attitude is endangering the mission and Polenin believes Vostrikov is endangering the personnel. When Ford is in full-tilt command mode, there aren't many actors who can believably stand up to him; then again, Neeson's sheer physical presence is intimidating before he utters a word. The two are powerfully well matched here as equally potent opposing forces. The supporting cast is compellingly human and responsive, with Peter Sarsgaard especially effective, conveying a great deal of thought and emotion with little dialogue as the untested nuclear officer. The multinational cast employ muted Russian accents that make them all sound like countrymen (they don't sound quite Russian, but it's never a distraction).

K-19 gets a little sentimental at the very end, but the film has earned it. It doesn't feel like overkill, perhaps because it's not combined with flag-waving, but rather evidences sincere admiration for people in an impossible situation who took extraordinary measures. Bigelow and company don't just get us to fear for the characters; they give us an uncomfortably good idea of what it would feel like to be one of the men caught up in an unthinkable crisis. To some extent, we walk out of the theatre feeling like we've been through it as well... and wondering how many similar situations may be occurring even now that we simply don't know about.

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