Taking Chance is a 2009 American historical drama television film directed by Ross Katz, from a screenplay by Michael Strobl and Katz, based on the journal of the same name by Strobl, who also serves as military consultant. Kevin Bacon's portrayal of Strobl in the film won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, among other accolades.
| Taking Chance | |
|---|---|
 Official film poster | |
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Written by | |
| Directed by | Ross Katz |
| Starring | Kevin Bacon |
| Composer | Marcelo Zarvos |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Lori Keith Douglas |
| Cinematography | Alar Kivilo |
| Editors |
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| Running time | 77 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | January 16, 2009 |
Taking Chance premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2009, and aired on HBO in the United States on February 21, 2009. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. At the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, it earned ten nominations, including Outstanding Made for Television Movie and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Bacon, and won one for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie.
Plot
editThe movie is based on the recollections of U.S. Marine Lt. Col Michael Strobl, a real person, who accompanied the remains of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, a Marine fatally wounded by gunfire near Baghdad during the Iraq War, from Dover Air Force Base to Dubois, Wyoming in April 2004. He attended both Phelps's funeral and his memorial service, and wrote an essay about the entire experience, the emotions he felt and the people he met. It was published in the blog Blackfive on 23 April 2004 and was circulated widely on the Internet.[1]
Cast
edit
- Kevin Bacon as Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl
- Nicholas Reese Art as Nate Strobl
- Blanche Baker as Chris Phelps
- Tom Bloom as Navy Chaplain
- Guy Boyd as Gary Hargrove
- James Castanien as Robert Orndoff
- Gordon Clapp as Tom Garrett
- Mike Colter as Master Gunnery Sergeant Demetry
- Gunnery Sergeant Henry Coy as Marine Driver
- Joel de la Fuente as Ticketing Agent
- Liza Colón-Zayás as Ticketing Agent
- Ann Dowd as Gretchen
- Tate Ellington as A.V. Scott
- Noah Fleiss as Army Sergeant
- Julian Gamble as Jeff Mack
- Enver Gjokaj as Corporal Arenz ('Sergeant' in film's dialogue)
- Brendan Griffin as Major Thompson
- Sergeant Adam Hayes as Dover Team Leader
- Danny Hoch as TSA Agent
- Ruby Jerins as Olivia Strobl
- Tom Kemp as Business Man
- John Bedford Lloyd as General Kruger
- John Magaro as Rich Brewer
- Matthew Morrison as Robert Rouse
- Maximilian Osinski as Sergeant Neuman
- Wolé Parks as Major Schott
- Del Pentecost as Minneapolis Cargo Handler
- Dominic Colon as Minneapolis Cargo Handler
- George Rabidou as Marine First Sergeant delivering U.S. Flag to parent during funeral.
- Christina Rouner as Tall Flight Attendant
- Victor Slezak as Sergeant Mulcahy
- Felix Solis as Philly Cargo Worker
- Sarah Thompson as Annie
- Paige Turco as Stacey Strobl
- Sharon Washington as Mortuary Technician
- Julie White as Colonel Karen Bell
- Emily Wickersham as Petty Officer Kelley Phelps
- William Wise as Larry Hertzog
- Tom Wopat as John Phelps
- Richard Reed as Rifle Detail Staff Non Commissioned Officer
Critical reception
editTaking Chance received generally favorable reviews. It holds a 76 out of 100 rating on Metacritic.[2] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 57% rating based on reviews from 7 critics.[3]
One review from The Baltimore Sun, said that it "... is one of the most eloquent and socially conscious films the premium cable channel has ever presented," [4] and USA Today, said "A small, almost perfectly realized gem of a movie, Taking Chance is also precisely the kind of movie that TV should be making."[citation needed] On the other end is Slant Magazine, saying "Instead of well-drawn characters or real human drama, we are presented with a military procedural on burial traditions. The film desperately wants the viewer to shed tears for its fallen hero without giving a single dramatic reason to do so."[5]
The film was the most-watched HBO original in five years, with over two million viewers on the opening night, and more than 5.5 million on re-airings. Critics often attribute this success to its apolitical nature, not directly depicting nor offering an opinion of the Iraq War.[6]
Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates wrote in his 2014 memoir Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War that the film had an "important impact" on his decision to allow the media access to the transfer of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base in February 2009.[7] During a White House press conference in 2017, former White House Chief of Staff and Retired Marine Corps General John F. Kelly, who was next to Chance when he was killed and is the father of First Lieutenant Robert Kelly who was killed in action in Afghanistan, recommended that the Washington press corps watch the film in order to understand the solemnity and dignity of the process of returning fallen military service members to their families.[8]
Awards and nominations
editReferences
edit- ^ Strobl, Michael R. "Taking Chance Home". Blackfive. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
- ^ Taking Chance reviews[dead link] at Metacritic
- ^ Taking Chance. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ Zurawik, David (Feb 21, 2009). "Don't miss HBO's Taking Chance with Kevin Bacon".. The Baltimore Sun
- ^ Holcomb, Brian (15 February 2009). "Review: Taking Chance". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
- ^ "Taking Chance". Wall Street Journal. News Corporation. March 14, 2009. p. 8. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
- ^ Gates, Robert. Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014). In Chapter 9: New Team, New Agenda, Old Secretary.
- ^ Shear, Michael D. (2017-10-20). "Kelly Delivers Fervent Defense of Trump Call to Soldier's Widow". The New York Times. p. A1.
- ^ "Past Winners & Nominees". Humanitas Prize. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ "13th Annual TV Awards (2008-09)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
- ^ "Taking Chance". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "2009 Satellite Awards". Satellite Awards. International Press Academy. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
- ^ 2009 Sundance Film Festival Archived 2014-04-14 at the Wayback Machine sundance.org
- ^ "Television Critics Association Awards Celebrate 25th Anniversary". Television Critics Association. August 1, 2009. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
- ^ Finke, Nikki (12 January 2010). "Nominees For Editors' ACE Eddie Awards". Deadline. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Past Nominees & Winners". American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "THE WINNERS AND NOMINEES FOR THE CINEMA AUDIO SOCIETY AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING FOR 2009". www.cinemaaudiosociety.org. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01.
- ^ Borys Kit; Gregg Kilday (January 15, 2010). "'Hurt Locker' tops Critics' Choice Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
- ^ "62nd DGA Awards". Directors Guild of America Awards. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ "Taking Chance – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
- ^ McNary, Dave (January 5, 2010). "PGA unveils nominations". Variety. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
- ^ "The 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
- ^ "Previous Nominees & Winners: 2009 Awards Winners". Writers Guild Awards. Archived from the original on 2015-05-12. Retrieved 2014-05-07.