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Reagan Constructs a Dangerous, Evangelical Mythology

Reagan Constructs a Dangerous, Evangelical Mythology

“How did you memorize those verses so fast?” Nelle Reagan asks her young son early on in Reagan. Ronald shrugs, offering no response, but there’s only one conclusion Nelle comes to, and it’s one Reagan repeatedly mauls you with over the course of its 135 minutes: “Well, God has a purpose for your life.”

A young Christian prodigy. A righteous, anticommunist informant. A man deeply devoted to the nuclear family. These are just some of the myths Reagan aims to construct around its subject. The obvious propagandistic bent to director Sean McNamara’s film is harrowing, though Reagan isn’t close to being the first example of this. It’s part of a continuum of Christian dramas which have been decently popular among select audiences as of late (see: Unsung Hero and God’s Not Dead, the latter of which saw a sequel penned by Reagan writer Howard Klausner). But, Reagan’s insistence on presenting itself as a traditional biopic—while also hitting the beats of Christian cinema—makes it scarier. It fancies itself to be a likeness of reality but is simultaneously unapologetic about mythologizing its central figure, obfuscating Reagan’s sins along the way and refusing any narrative that doesn’t paint him as the Christian, capitalist savior of the family unit.

Reagan is narrated by former KGB agent Viktor Petrovich (Jon Voight), who we are apparently supposed to trust as a preeminent authority on Reagan’s personal life from ages 0-69. The feature is primarily interested in Reagan’s (Dennis Quaid) trajectory prior to his presidency—in the myriad ways in which his sterling ideology supposedly informed his private and public decision-making, with flashbacks of his childhood and adolescent years interspersed throughout. Based on Paul Kengor’s 2006 book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, Reagan accordingly focuses on one major ideological project: cementing the former president as a stalwart anticommunist idol. His adult life is tinted through this lens while his younger years, particularly as a child and adolescent, possess a distinctly biblical bent, positioning the young Reagan as a Christ-like figure.

“Every twist of fate is part of the divine plan,” Reagan tells a child, and Reagan structures itself in kind. Reagan’s rise to prominence and the presidency are all part of a divine plan, the picture claims over and over again. Reagan’s script is so painfully on-the-nose surrounding this point that the narrator—the previously mentioned former KGB agent—is as in on the idolatry as the rest of the film.

For example, in a flashback to Reagan’s childhood, Reagan quietly prays, singularly devout in his church. Petrovich adulates his storytelling and memorization abilities over voiceover, before telling us “[Reagan’s] father Jack was a charismatic storyteller. But his sordid talent drowned in the bottom of a bottle.” Despite this, Reagan managed to continue on Christ’s path, and Petrovich immediately tells us about Reagan’s baptism. “He was bringing people together and solving problems,” Petrovich says as the film flashes forward, depicting Reagan as a teenager helping his football coach sort out interpersonal issues between teammates.

It’s both intensely startling and absurdly comical how intent Reagan is on venerating its subject, though within the framework of the picture’s twisted logic it makes sense. As a propaganda piece for the godfather of modern conservatism, Reagan must undergird its hero’s convictions with undeniable proof of his unmatched moral principles in the private sphere to support his so-called achievements in the public sphere.

In this sense, Ronald must be shown making bedroom eyes at Nancy (Penelope Ann Miller) after she professes how important family is to her, if only to show that Reagan’s countless presidential addresses are entirely rooted in truth—that he really did wholeheartedly believe that the responsibility for society’s welfare rested on individual families (and not on the embedded liberal governmental policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson). Forget about the rest of Reagan’s lasting legacy—his neglect of the AIDS epidemic, his jingoistic foreign policy, his trickle-down economics, and so on. By Reagan’s logic, anyone adversely affected by these weren’t saintly the way Reagan was; if someone suffered from his moral policies, it’s only indicative of their profound moral failings.

While Reagan’s script and narrative structure might inspire some intrigue on the sheer basis of its endless interest in deceit, you’ll be left with nothing in the visuals department. As it aims to adopt the formal and narrative patterns of the rote biopic, Reagan offers nothing interesting to look at. It mostly consists of endless scenes of shot-reverse shot and a cloying piano score, with no artistic decisions of any significance—though, one could expect if there were any stimulating choices, it would be in service of Reagan’s conservative jingoism, so maybe that offers a sliver of relief.

If you’re looking for an even-handed narrative about Reagan, don’t see Reagan. If you’re content to watch a terrifying, sanitized biopic in order to do research on the rise of Christian filmmaking in Hollywood, that may be the only reason to watch it. But only if you make sure to lay your head back in some sprinkling, purified water afterwards, because you might need to be born again. At most, Reagan should only be lodged in your notes, not in your memory.

Director: Sean McNamara
Writers: Howard Klausner
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Penelope Ann Miller, Robert Davi, Lesley-Anne Down, Jon Voight
Release Date: August 30, 2024


Hafsah Abbasi is a film critic who has covered the Sundance Film Festival and the Mill Valley Film Festival in years past. She currently resides in Berkeley, California. Find her latest writing at https://twitter.com/hafs_uh.

 
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