Taking Chance

Last updated
Taking Chance
Takingchance.jpg
Official film poster
Genre Historical drama
Written by
Directed byRoss Katz
Starring Kevin Bacon
Composer Marcelo Zarvos
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
ProducerLori Keith Douglas
Cinematography Alar Kivilo
Editors
Running time77 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network HBO
ReleaseJanuary 16, 2009 (2009-01-16)

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.

Contents

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

The 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

Family members of Chance Phelps attend the Virginia premiere in February 2009 TakingChancePremiereFeb09.jpg
Family members of Chance Phelps attend the Virginia premiere in February 2009
Director Ross Katz speaking before the premiere RossKatzTakingChanceFeb09.jpg
Director Ross Katz speaking before the premiere
Kevin Bacon speaking before the premiere KevinBaconTakingChanceFeb09.jpg
Kevin Bacon speaking before the premiere
Len Amato, president of HBO Films, speaking before the premiere LenAmatoTakingChanceFeb09.jpg
Len Amato, president of HBO Films, speaking before the premiere

Critical reception

Taking 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

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultRef.
2009
Humanitas Prize 90 Minute or Longer Network or Syndicated Television Michael Strobl and Ross Katz Won [9]
Online Film & Television Association AwardsBest Motion PictureNominated [10]
Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries Kevin Bacon Nominated
Best Direction of a Motion Picture or MiniseriesRoss KatzNominated
Best Writing of a Motion Picture or MiniseriesMichael Strobl and Ross KatzNominated
Best Editing in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesNominated
Best New Titles Sequence in a Series, Motion Picture or MiniseriesNominated
Best Production Design in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesNominated
Best Sound in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesNominated
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Made for Television Movie Brad Krevoy, Cathy Wischner-Sola, Ross Katz, William Teitler, and Lori Keith DouglasNominated [11]
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Kevin BaconNominated
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special Ross KatzNominated
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special Michael Strobl and Ross KatzNominated
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie Dan Leigh, James Donahue, and Ron Von BlombergNominated
Outstanding Main Title Design Michael Riley, Dru Nget, Dan Meehan, and Bob SwensenNominated
Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) Marcelo Zarvos Nominated
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or Movie Lee Percy and Brian A. KatesWon
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special Rickley Dumm, Frank Gaeta, David Grant, Tim Boggs, Catherine Harper, Chris Moriana, and Johnny CarusoNominated
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie T.J. O'Mara and Rick AshNominated
Satellite Awards Best Motion Picture Made for Television Nominated [12]
Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television Kevin BaconNominated
Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize: DramaticRoss KatzNominated [13]
Television Critics Association Awards Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials Nominated [14]
2010
American Cinema Editors Awards Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television Lee Percy and Brian A. KatesNominated [15]
American Society of Cinematographers Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture/Miniseries Television Alar Kivilo Won [16]
Cinema Audio Society Awards Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Miniseries T.J. O'Mara and Rick AshNominated [17]
Critics' Choice Awards Best Picture Made for TelevisionWon [18]
Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television or Miniseries Ross KatzWon [19]
Golden Globe Awards Best Miniseries or Television Film Nominated [20]
Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Kevin BaconWon
Producers Guild of America Awards David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television Lori Keith Douglas, Ross Katz, Brad Krevoy, and Cathy Wischner-SolaNominated [21]
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Kevin BaconWon [22]
Writers Guild of America Awards Long Form – Adaptation Michael Strobl and Ross KatzWon [23]

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References

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  2. Taking Chance reviews [ dead link ] at Metacritic
  3. Taking Chance. Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  4. Zurawik, David (Feb 21, 2009). "Don't miss HBO's Taking Chance with Kevin Bacon".. The Baltimore Sun
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  6. "Taking Chance". Wall Street Journal . News Corporation. March 14, 2009. p. 8. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  7. Gates, Robert. Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014). In Chapter 9: New Team, New Agenda, Old Secretary.
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