September 2, 2024 · Watch the official trailer
Director Sean McNamara got his start in filmmaking during the 1980s working as the primary sound engineer for Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign.
His reverence for the 40th president – quite understandably – shines through in the latest political biopic, “Reagan,” which debuted in theaters this past weekend.
Based on Paul Kengor’s 2006 book, “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism,” the film follows the titular president over wide portions of his life from his time in Hollywood as a leader in the Screen Actors Guild, through multiple marriages and into a political life that would see him at the center of the Cold War.
Movies about presidents have a lot of moving parts that can often get in the way of a lead actor’s performance. And while at times, it feels as if there are other elements at play, Dennis Quaid does a solid job embodying the 40th president of the United States with a cadence and vocal tone that is very reminiscent of Reagan’s unique speaking voice but does not fall into caricature.
It's quite evident throughout the film that every decision Quaid makes in the role is thoughtful and exacting to specificity through research in order to be as authentic to the man as possible. Sometimes, though, it’s difficult for audiences not to see Quaid acting as Reagan as opposed to just Reagan on screen, especially early in the film, but as events progress into his political career, the lines blur much more consistently with the stronger moments in Quaid’s performance happening once Reagan’s relationship with Nancy begins.
Penelope Ann Miller gives a modest, yet eloquent turn as Nancy Reagan in the more subdued support that she gives Ronald throughout the second half of the film and her pairing opposite Quaid seems to elevate his performance as well, which widely contrasts from the standoffish lack of chemistry Quaid has with Mena Suvari, who plays Jane Wyman.
The biggest flaw within “Reagan” is the framing device McNamara and screenwriter Howard Klausner use to tell the full story of the former president’s life.
While the film opens in the middle of his presidential career flashing back to Reagan’s youth, much of the movie is told through the perspective of a retired KGB officer explaining to a younger Russian spy why Reagan – described by Soviet officials as “The Crusader” – was so pivotal to the ending of the Soviet Union.
This device includes numerous sequences where a narrator describes Reagan’s thoughts and actions and rather than it being Reagan himself or even his first lady, Jon Voight as the elder Russian spy takes the reigns of the story away from America, which creates a disjointed effect on the ways audiences can connect with the film.
McNamara jumps back and forth between different eras in Reagan’s life, while also cross-cutting scenes set in present-day Moscow in order to provide unneeded contrast. This thins out the narrative to the point where it feels like larger moments in Reagan’s personal and political history are shortchanged or removed entirely from the film in favor of a narrative device that probably wasn’t that necessary.
In fact, “Reagan” would be a significantly better film structurally if it was set within the context of a few key moments more closely following Reagan as a man and world leader, flashing forward and backward as needed to fill in the context of pivotal moments.
This also creates mixed messaging in tone and what the true heart of the movie is. Quaid and Miller have said in interviews that the love story between Ronald and Nancy is the core of “Reagan,” though the film languishes early in its runtime while navigating through the president’s first marriage to actress Jane Wyman.
Nancy isn’t introduced until nearly halfway through the film and by that point, “Reagan” splits even further between the president’s personal and professional life to the point where the genuine chemistry between Quaid and Miller feels robbed of what a tighter-knit film could have delivered.
It’s clear that McNamara, and especially Quaid, have deep reverence for the former president and moments that focus on the man himself and his personal convictions have solid footing, making “Reagan” something that audiences who lived through his administration might consider seeking out in theaters.
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