Taking Chance | |
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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 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 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.
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]
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]
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American actor. Known for his leading man and character roles, Bacon has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Justin Kirk is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Prior Walter in the HBO miniseries Angels in America (2003), for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, and Andy Botwin in the Showtime dark comedy series Weeds (2005–2012).
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Ross Katz is an American film producer, screenwriter and film director. He has executive produced films including In the Bedroom and Lost in Translation, and has directed the films Adult Beginners (2014) and The Choice (2016), and the HBO film Taking Chance (2009).
Chance Russell Phelps was a private first class – posthumously promoted to lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps. He served with 2nd Platoon, Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment (3/11), 1st Marine Division, and I Marine Expeditionary Force, during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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Michael R. Strobl is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer from Stafford, Virginia, and is currently Assistant Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Headquarters, United States Marine Corps.
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The Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television is one of the award categories presented annually by the Critics' Choice Television Awards to recognize the work done by television actors. It was introduced in 2012. The winners are selected by a group of television critics that are part of the Broadcast Television Critics Association.
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