Taking Chance

Taking Chance

Taking Chance is a 2009 American historical drama television film directed by Ross Katz, from a screenplay by former U.S. Marine officer Michael Strobl and Katz, based on the journal of the same title kept by Strobl, who also served as military consultant. Kevin Bacon's portrayal won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, among others.

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, such as Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for Bacon, and won one for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie.

Plot

Taking Chance

The movie is based on the recollections of U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl. Strobl becomes self-reflective about his duties assigned to the task of the funeral arrangements for deceased soldiers in contrast to ambitions of active duty in warfare for which he joined the Corps. He decides that he will take the assignment of seeing after the remains of a Private First Class even though military protocol would normally assign an NCO to such an assignment. He accompanied the remains of Marine Private First Class Chance Phelps (posthumously promoted to Lance Corporal) from Dover Air Force Base to Dubois, Wyoming.

Phelps was fatally wounded by gunfire on 9 April 2004 near Baghdad during the Iraq War. Strobl attended both Phelps's funeral and his memorial service, discovering that Phelps was an exceptional soldier and well-liked by his fellow Marines. After drinks at the local Veterans club, he confides to the ranking veteran in charge there that he harbors envy for the active duty that Phelps experienced in the field. The ranking veteran tells him to reconsider his words, and that the duty he performs for the grieving families is a high honor which he may have underestimated. Strobl reflects on the ranking veteran's words and fulfills his duty of handling the last remains of a fallen soldier, before he returns home to his wife and little daughters.

Strobl later 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 shared widely on the Internet.

Cast

Taking Chance

Family members of Chance Phelps attend the Virginia premiere in February 2009.

Kevin Bacon speaking before the premiere

• Kevin Bacon as Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl • Nicholas Reese Art as Nate Strobl • Blanche Baker as Chris Phelps • Tom Bloom as Navy Chaplain • Guy Boyd as Gary Hargrove • James Castanien as Robert Orndoff • Gordon Clapp as Tom Garrett • Mike Colter as Master Gunnery Sergeant Demetry • Henry Coy as Marine Driver • Joel de la Fuente as Ticketing Agent • Liza Colón-Zayás as Ticketing Agent • Ann Dowd as Gretchen • Tate Ellington as A.V. Scott • Noah Fleiss as Army Sergeant • Julian Gamble as Jeff Mack • Tom Aldredge as Charlie Fitts • Enver Gjokaj as Corporal Arenz ('Sergeant' in film's dialogue) • Brendan Griffin as Major Thompson • Adam Hayes as Dover Team Leader • Danny Hoch as TSA Agent • Ruby Jerins as Olivia Strobl • Tom Kemp as Business Man • John Bedford Lloyd as General Kruger • John Magaro as Rich Brewer • Matthew Morrison as Robert Rouse • Maximilian Osinski as Sergeant Neuman • Wolé Parks as Major Schott • Del Pentecost as Minneapolis Cargo Handler • Dominic Colon as Minneapolis Cargo Handler • George Rabidou as Marine First Sergeant delivering U.S. Flag to parent during funeral. • Christina Rouner as Tall Flight Attendant • Victor Slezak as Sergeant Mulcahy • Felix Solis as Philly Cargo Worker • Steven Hand as Philly Cargo Worker • Sarah Thompson as Annie • Paige Turco as Stacey Strobl • Sharon Washington as Mortuary Technician • Julie White as Colonel Karen Bell • Emily Wickersham as Petty Officer Kelley Phelps • William Wise as Larry Hertzog • Tom Wopat as John Phelps • Richard Reed as Rifle Detail Staff Non Commissioned Officer

Critical reception

Taking Chance

Taking Chance received generally favorable reviews. On Metacritic it has a score of 76 out of 100 based on 16 reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 57% rating based on reviews from 7 critics.

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," 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." 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."

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.

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. 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.

Accolades

Taking Chance

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Award</th><th>Category</th><th>Nominee(s)</th><th>Result</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2009</td><td>Humanitas Prize</td><td>90 Minute or Longer Network or Syndicated Television</td><td>Michael Strobl and Ross Katz</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Online Film & Television Association Awards</td><td>Best Motion Picture</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Actor in a Motion Picture or Miniseries</td><td>Kevin Bacon</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Direction of a Motion Picture or Miniseries</td><td>Ross Katz</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Writing of a Motion Picture or Miniseries</td><td>Michael Strobl and Ross Katz</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Editing in a Motion Picture or Miniseries</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best New Titles Sequence in a Series, Motion Picture or Miniseries</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Production Design in a Motion Picture or Miniseries</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Best Sound in a Motion Picture or Miniseries</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Primetime Emmy Awards</td><td>Outstanding Television Movie</td><td>Brad Krevoy, Cathy Wischner-Sola, Ross Katz, William Teitler, and Lori Keith Douglas</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie</td><td>Kevin Bacon</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Movie</td><td>Ross Katz</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or Movie</td><td>Michael Strobl and Ross Katz</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards</td><td>Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie</td><td>Dan Leigh, James Donahue, and Ron Von Blomberg</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding Main Title Design</td><td>Michael Riley, Dru Nget, Dan Meehan, and Bob Swensen</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score)</td><td>Marcelo Zarvos</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or Movie</td><td>Lee Percy and Brian A. Kates</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special</td><td>Rickley Dumm, Frank Gaeta, David Grant, Tim Boggs, Catherine Harper, Chris Moriana, and Johnny Caruso</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie</td><td>T.J. O'Mara and Rick Ash</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Satellite Awards</td><td>Best Motion Picture Made for Television</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television</td><td>Kevin Bacon</td><td>Nominated</td></tr><tr><td>Sundance Film Festival</td><td>Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic</td><td>Ross Katz</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Television Critics Association Awards</td><td>Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>American Cinema Editors Awards</td><td>Best Edited Miniseries or Motion Picture for Television</td><td>Lee Percy and Brian A. Kates</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>American Society of Cinematographers Awards</td><td>Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture/Miniseries Television</td><td>Alar Kivilo</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cinema Audio Society Awards</td><td>Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Movies and Miniseries</td><td>T.J. O'Mara and Rick Ash</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Critics' Choice Awards</td><td>Best Picture Made for Television</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Directors Guild of America Awards</td><td>Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television or Miniseries</td><td>Ross Katz</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Golden Globe Awards</td><td>Best Miniseries or Television Film</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film</td><td>Kevin Bacon</td><td>Won</td></tr><tr><td>Producers Guild of America Awards</td><td>David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television</td><td>Lori Keith Douglas, Ross Katz, Brad Krevoy, and Cathy Wischner-Sola</td><td>Nominated</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Screen Actors Guild Awards</td><td>Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie</td><td>Kevin Bacon</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Writers Guild of America Awards</td><td>Long Form – Adaptation</td><td>Michael Strobl and Ross Katz</td><td>Won</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>