War Game is a compulsively absorbing and gripping documentary that poses the question of how a US administration would respond to a political coup backed by rogue members of the US military in the wake of a contested 2024 presidential election. Playing out like a tense political thriller, War Game puts a bipartisan group of US defence, intelligence and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations into a room, and gives them just six hours to save American democracy.
This elaborate simulation dramatically escalates the threat posed by the January 6 2021 insurrection, with participants taking part in edgy and often dynamic unscripted role-play. The exercise was set up by the non-profit, non-partisan military veterans organisation Vet Voice, motivated by an opinion piece in the Washington Post in December 2021 by three retired generals that said the military must prepare for a 2025 insurrection.
The film astutely blends cinéma verité with classic movie political thrills, all set against a future (well, early 2025) backdrop. The camera tracks twin storylines of the back-stage games-masters and those in the constructed situation room who have to respond to swiftly to changing situations, as a (fake) extremist and anti-democratic paramilitary group called The Order of Columbus begins to engineer a coup after claims of election fraud. The aim of the exercise is simply to stress-test national security.
War Game opens in a style familiar to any watcher of political thrillers as operatives of Red Cell (former military veterans Chris Smith and Fred Wellman) observe political buildings in Washington as they plot and plan the “coup.” But the film swiftly moves indoors as the Vet Voice team set up rooms in a Washington hotel which acts as both the situation room and the game controllers’ room. We also have an appearance from the only genuine actor in the film, British performer Ralph Brown who plays Lieutenant General Roger Simms, a retired military leader and figurehead of the coup. The film shows Simms (also known as ‘The Patriarch’) being coached by Smith to deliver rousing speeches and offer a seemingly sober and upright alternative to the President’s views and arguments.
In the situation room a series of major figures take on the key decision-making roles as the administration is forced to face up to a fast-changing landscape. Steve Bullock, Governor of Montana (2013-2021), takes on the role of beleaguered President John Hotham whose election win is being challenged. Figures alongside him include Heidi Heitkamp, US Senator (North Dakota, 2013-2019) as Senior Advisor to the President; Marshall “Will” Williams, former Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army as Secretary of the Army; General (Ret.) Wesley Clark, US Army, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander as Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff; Major General (Ret.) Linda Singh of the Maryland National Guard as Chief of the National Guard Bureau; and Elizabeth Neumann, Deputy Chief of Staff, Department of Homeland Security as Homeland Security Advisor.
The War Game narrative opens on January 6, 2025 as Congress is convening to certify the re-election of the incumbent US President, who has narrowly defeated his challenger. There are reports that thousands of angry protestors supportive of President-elect John Hotham’s defeated opponent (Gov. Robert Strickland) are marching on the US Capitol to disrupt the count. In the White House Situation Room, Hotham huddles with his closest political and military advisors and key members of his Cabinet to monitor the process.
It all feels chillingly plausible as the game controllers set a narrative in which a “splinter cell” within the US military sides with the losing presidential candidate. Word comes to the situation room that a key faction of the uniformed members of the DC National Guard has betrayed their orders and has allowed armed protestors to pierce the perimeter and advance on the main building. The FBI Director informs the President that the protestors have been mobilised by the Order of Columbus group.
Inside the situation room the players have just six hours to save American democracy. Outside the Situation Room, the war game designers, including Janessa Goldbeck of Vet Voice, Ben Radd of Fascination Lab and consultant Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Alexander Vindman, monitor the President’s response via a bank of monitors which provide a live multi-camera video/audio feed. Their perspectives, which are interwoven through the story, provide context on the purpose, stakes and structure of the war game, and the personal experiences that motivated them to all work together.
War Game makes for often mesmerising viewing, and is adroitly filmed and structured by Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber, with the serious and articulate participation of all those involved giving an unnervingly realistic tone to proceedings. And it is made all the more chilling with the knowledge of how close the US came to violent insurrection just a few years ago.
US, 2024, 94mins
Dirs/scr: Jesse Moss, Tony Gerber
Production: Matator Content, Littlefield Company, Quaker Moving Pictures, Mile End Films, Market Road Films
International sales: AC Independent, Submarine EntertainmentProducers: Jesse Moss, Todd Lubin, Jack Turner, Mark Dicristofaro, Nick Shumaker, Jessica Grimshaw
Cinematography: Thorsten Thielow, Wolfgang Held, Daniel Carter, Tim Grucza, Brett Wiley, Keri Oberly
Editor: Jeff Gilbert
Music: Paweł Mykietyn
With: Chris Jones, Kris Goldsmith, Janessa Goldbeck, Ralph Brown, Steve Bullock, Major General (Ret) Linda Singh, Elizabeth Neumann, David Priess, Joe Reeder, Doug Jones, Marshall “Will” Williams, General (Ret.) Wesley Clark, Heidi Heitkamp
