By Amelia Morris
“Reagan” is a chronologically woven story detailing the life of the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Thanks to Cedarville’s Young Americans for Freedom student organization, the 2024 film “Reagan” was shown in the Biblical and Theological Studies building on Saturday night.
The story is told from the perspective of a former Soviet Union spy named Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight). His character is a fictional addition, but is used as a framing device for the story as he describes his experiences to a young man. Over the years, Viktor has kept a careful watch on Ronald, believing that one day he would bring about the end of the Soviet Union.
The film followed Ronald (Dennis Quaid) as a young boy, all the way into his retirement after his two-term presidency. Even at a young age, Ronald was an inspired young man. He committed to a life with Christ, very young, and often spoke in church. He found his disdain for communism after a defective Soviet came to Ronald’s church to warn them about the dangers of such beliefs.
Ronald began his professional career as an actor. When he married his first wife and had three kids, their marriage took a turn for the worst and ended in divorce. During this time, Ronald was rising up through the ranks of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
Ronald found himself fighting political battles as SAG president while the communists tried to infiltrate the unions in Hollywood. Because of him, the Soviet spies were exposed and Ronald found his knack for politics.
While he was still president, he met his second wife Nancy. With her support, Ronald quit his dead-end acting career and pursued politics. While he did not find much success in the beginning, he found his footing in the Republican party and eventually ran for president.
As president, Ronald Reagan knew his fight was not just against the Soviets, but also with policies in America. When Reagan spoke, the world stopped to listen.
Throughout the film there were multiple time jumps that were abrupt but allowed the timeframe of the story to be expansive.Often, it was the audience that was jogging to catch up while the story ran away. There could have been scenes that bridged the gap, but they ultimately would have slowed the movie down.
Another consequence of the time jumps, was that CGI was used several times in the movie to show age, or lack thereof, on actors. Dennis Quaid, was made to look younger than he is for the majority of the film. It seemed out of place, but also understandable considering the amount of time the movie was attempting to cover.
The lower thirds throughout the film made the movie easier to understand. Because there was not an exposition, or an easy way to insert one, characters and locations were revealed to the audience through on-screen text. Doing so allowed the movie to fit in as much content as it could without cutting necessary information.
“Reagan” had a patriotic message. The movie spoke to people even today, like those who remember his administration and those who have no idea about it. Reagan was a great communicator and this movie showcased that trait in him.
“Reagan” provided the history of his life in a comedic, heart warming and concise manner. While it was a brief summary of the work Ronald did in his life, the movie was educational and engaging.
As a whole, “Reagan” was a great watch. I learned, laughed and even cried at the end. I got so much out of the two and a half hour runtime and I would recommend it to any history buff.
“Reagan” is currently streaming on Prime and AppleTV.
Amelia Morris is a freshman journalism major and writer for Cedars A&E. She loves reading, writing and being in nature with her dogs.
Images courtesy of Rawhide Pictures, MJM Entertainment Group, Makeshift Productions, and Alluwee Productions.
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