Rating: 4/5
Synopsis:
In the toxic political climate of our current world, there is a yearning to put our differences aside and learn to communicate again. The film covers the life of President Ronald Reagan, coming from a small town in Illinois who’s ambitions to combat Communism influenced America’s role in the Cold War. We see his life explored from a former KGB agent’s perspective, recalling how Reagan was able to disarm his political opponents through charisma and grit. We also see Reagan’s relationship with his wife Nancy and how their strong bond helped him through some of the difficult points in his life. Reagan’s biography highlights some of his greatest accomplishments, conversations on the world stage, and his moments outside of the spotlight.
Positives:
Ronald Reagan is one of the most influential presidents in American history. I remember learning about him in history class, specifically his role in combating Communism in the Cold War. The topic is explored in the film as the central point of his political career. I really enjoyed seeing this period explored in such an intimate way. It was fascinating seeing Reagan learn about the harms of Communism from a young age and how it influenced his desire to run for office and make a difference. His unwavering patriotism and passion for the American dream was evident as he grew in the political ranks. There are some subjects explored in the film that weren’t about his political career. We see how he embraced leadership and public speaking from a young age, doing what was right even if it wasn’t popular at the time. We see his time as a young man, his career as an actor, how he met Nancy, and how he rose to power. I really enjoyed how the story covered so much material in one film. The runtime is long but never dragged. Credit ro director Sean McNamara for crafting a story that manages to keep audiences engaged.
Dennis Quaid’s performance as Reagan is nothing short of excellent. I’ve been a fan of Quad’s for years so seeing him take on such an iconic role was a treat. He captures the optimistic nature of Reagan’s character. He also conveys the passionate moments with poise, specifically during his most famous speeches. Credit to the makeup and costume team for getting the little details correct in Reagan’s appearance. The film is also historically accurate in many regards. There are quotes used from Reagan’s life that I was surprised made it into the film (in the best way possible). I enjoyed that his relationship with Nancy was such an important aspect of the story. Their relationship was close in real life so seeing this as an integral part of his career made the story more effective. The film also concludes with a heartfelt tribute to the President as he addresses the nation one final time before he lived quietly on his ranch due to Alzheimer’s disease. The film is better than expected and I really enjoyed learning about President Reagan more.
Negatives:
“Reagan” isn’t a film with a huge budget or a large production company backing it. Naturally, some of the technical elements won’t be top notch compared to larger studio films. That being said, it’s impressive what the crew was able to achieve with these limitations. Some of the transitions between time periods felt a bit strange due to the nature of the Russian narration. I don’t think the KGB point of view did much for the story outside of providing a perspective of admiration (and a bit of jealousy perhaps). I believe it was meant to make the flow of the story better since they covered so much of Reagan’s life. But in general I don’t think this added much to the story overall. There are patches of weak dialogue too. If the script had been ironed out further they could have avoided this. I’d say Nancy Reagan was given the bulk of the weak dialogue.
Conclusion:
Ronald Reagan’s biographical drama is surprisingly effective! It is anchored by a strong performance from Dennis Quaid, covering many different stages of the President’s life. The history explored during his presidency was interesting to see unfold. But seeing who he was outside of the spotlight was also interesting to examine. The film uses its longer runtime to cover lots of subject matter but does so in a way that keeps things moving. A fan of Reagan or not, I’d highly recommend checking this one out to learn about the life of one of America’s most influential presidents.
