Review of The Day After (1983) by Sean G — 03 May 2009

The day before. The day of. The Day After.

A good depiction of nuclear holocaust but lets us believe that there will be a day after the detonation, but in reality there won't be a day after.

The film starts off showing military personnel conducting operations and is a bit abrupt in doing so. The film introduces average citizens, young and old, that will be the main characters shown in the film. These people are residents of Lawrence, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. They are enjoying their lives until reports delivered on radio and television talking about imminent nuclear war put their lives on hold. They try to get in touch with their loved ones, build fallout shelters, stock up on supplies and prepare for the worst. As Cold War tensions reach the ultimate boiling point, nuclear warheads are launched by both the Soviet Union and the United States. It is made deliberately unclear as to who fired the first nuke. We then see the inhabitants and of Kansas struggle with the effects of nuclear destruction, fallout, and radiation. On the day after the attack we see that the survivors believe that the lucky ones died first. Some people do their best to help one another, while others devolve into animals.

This film is directed by Nicholas Meyer who is best known for his work on the Star Trek films. He directs a film that has low grade special effect and stock footage of nuclear detonations but has great use of imagery with the main characters and the suffering they undergo. Music is used sparingly and the little use of music improves all of the scenes of the film. Screams or silence is what is heard when we see the effects of living in the day after.

None of the acting is memorable save for a few scenes. The writing in this film isn't entirely believable for people who would be living in the day after. The acting is then hurt by the lame writing with the performers not being able to reach their full potential because they have to be tame for this film.

The film gives us a general idea of a nuclear war but the punches in this film are being pulled. The filmmaker and co. should have gone the extra mile in depicting "what if" scenario. The film could have been more graphic because the film is focusing on the effects of everyday people and not military battles.

The introductory and closing music did not suit the tone of this film. Composer David Raskin wrote 30 minutes of original music for this film but much of it did not make the final cut of the film. However some music did fit the eerie and disturbing scenes of this film.

A tame depiction, mediocre acting, poor special effects and at some times, off kilter music is the short fallings of this movie. The film gets progressively better as it goes on and the imagery of this film is what makes it a good film worth watching. Hell, everybody knows that the reality of nuclear war would be far worse than what is presented in this film. This is even stated at the end of the film and also states that this film would help end the threat of nuclear war.

The nuclear power is a great discovery by mankind. The effects of the use or misuse of this power has been shown to us many times in history. If we can take something from this film, we can learn from history and become a better and more advanced species. If we don't, the only real survivors that will be alive on the day after will be cockroaches.

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein.