‘Jupiter’ Review: A Claustrophobic Study of a Nuclear-Escalation Nightmare That Feels Too Small for the Big Screen

Despite actor Denis Menochet's gravely commanding performance, Alexandre Smia's efficient political procedural feels like the pilot for a TV show titled "Worst Case Scenario."

By Jessica Kiang

Jessica Kiang

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Fictional French President Paul Archambault, as played with gimlet-eyed resolve by Denis Menochet in Alexandre Smia‘s “Jupiter” is, we’re cued to believe, a good man. Thrust suddenly into a lurching nuclear crisis, he gathers ministers and advisers around him and listens intently to their staunchly opposing views on escalation vs appeasement. They are also good men and good women, cleaving to the same basic humanist principles, while disagreeing volubly on how to put them into practise.

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