Low key, post-nuke shocker in "The Day After" genre directed by a doco filmmaker. As expected, the emphasis is off special effects and on performances and mood. There's quite a cast -- William Devane, Jane Alexander, Kevin Costner, Rebecca de Mornay and Lukas Haas -- and they're all very solid. The scope of the movie is small. It focuses primarily on one family's efforts to deal with the psychological and physical ripples triggered by a nuke. We're not told who dropped the bomb and we don't see widespread devastation. Unlike "The Day After", the characters in this more theatrical drama slowly come to terms with their dark future. Steven B. Poster's cinematography is exceptionally good, as is James Horner's unusually subtle score.
Review of Testament
