Reagan is a fantastic biopic about the life and legacy of the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan.
Dennis Quaid does a masterful job of portraying Reagan as he goes from Hollywood actor to U.S. president. He captures Reagan’s iconic jet-black hair and baritone voice quite well and mastered his well-known smile.
The scripting by Howard Klausner is excellent, capturing the essence of Reagan’s character along with those of his wife, Nancy. His adversaries are also portrayed well, and Jon Voight’s narration helps establish a sense of place.
Reagan tells the – albeit simplified – story of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, narrated by a former psychologist and KGB agent, Viktor Petrovich, to an up-and-coming Russian politician.
Biopics are often told through the perspective of the subject or a close family member, such as a spouse. Reagan is instead told from the point of view of a man who analyzes Reagan’s life because he stands in the way of the expansion of communism into the United States via Hollywood.
There are a few key moments in the movie that reveal how Reagan became the man everyone knew. There is a flashback to Dixon, Illinois, where Reagan, nicknamed “Dutch,” grew up. He went to church with his mother, Nelle, who gave him a book called That Printer of Udell’s. This story inspired him to get baptised and set a roadmap for his life.
When he is older, B.E Kertchman, a Soviet defector, visited the church Reagan attended and delivered a speech about life in the Soviet Union and how religion was stripped from their livelihoods. This speech is what led to Reagan’s disdain towards communism.
About three quarters of the way through the movie, there is a negotiation scene in Geneva between Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev. They develop a friendly bond but this changes during their meeting in Reykjavik, where Reagan walks away from the table, and no denuclearization agreement is reached.
These were very powerful scenes because they show Reagan’s strength and desire to make change, whether in his own life or for the world.
Reagan showed that he could bring the U.S. and Soviet Union together despite being at war with each other.
The climax comes within the last 20 minutes of the film. Reagan is giving a speech in Berlin on June 12, 1987. The big moment comes when he says “Mr. Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!” This humiliated the Soviets, and two years later, the Berlin Wall fell, with the Soviet Union following suit two years after.
This part is chilling. The music helps build anticipation and the screen switches between Moscow and Reagan‘s speech writers, who are watching with anticipation, adds to the mood. The impact of this speech cannot be understated as it is one of the blows that took down the Soviet Union.
The rest of the movie shows Reagan battling Alzheimer’s Disease at his ranch in California. He died on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93.
This is a very emotional ending as we see Nancy in tears while she watches him ride horses with his detail for the last time.
While this movie is a faithful tribute to Reagan’s achievements, it does not show many of his failures, such as Reaganomics or the War on Drugs, which were key issues during his presidency.
That said, Reagan is a fantastic biopic that tells a simplified version of a complex story. While it doesn’t cover everything, you should go out and watch it. It doesn’t matter which side you lean politically, you will enjoy it.