Pressure - Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

IT IS perhaps timely that a film like Pressure should be released now given the precarious nature of the world, both in terms of the dangers posed by a new global conflict and climate change induced weather.

It also puts history into sharp focus as a lesson we ignore at our peril, as well as paying tribute to a little known behind-the-scenes story surrounding the events leading up to D-Day.

That story involved the preparations for the Normandy landings, as overseen by leading Scottish meteorologist Captain James Stagg, who was appointed the Chief Meteorological Officer for Operation Overlord, and tasked with reporting to General Dwight D. Eisenhower in determining just what date to name D-Day [the massive Allied amphibious invasion of Nazi-occupied France, involving nearly 7,000 ships, 11,000 aircraft, and over 156,000 Allied troops].

Eisenhower, together with British General Bernard Montgomery, was a fierce advocate for June 5, 1944 - the day before the actual landings eventually took place.

But Stagg urged caution, having calculated (with the help of a vast meteorological team) that an almighty storm would be raging on that day, making the successful completion of the operation virtually impossible.

His predictions, without certainty, placed him at odds with both of his superiors, as well as less qualified American meteorologist Irving Crick. But he held firm, eventually finding a window of opportunity on June 6. The rest, as they say, is history.

Pressure began life as a play in London’s West End in 2014, having been penned by actor-playwright David Haig, who co-wrote this film adaptation with Australian director Anthony Maras (of Hotel Mumbai fame). It’s perhaps little wonder, then, that the film feels stagey a lot of the time, largely being confined to the war rooms where the decisions were fiercely debated.

But it has employed a terrific cast to deliver this important story and ensure that audiences remain gripped.

Primary among those is Andrew Scott, who depicts Stagg as something of a straight-talking loner, and weather genius, who had the mental resilience and temerity to stand up to the bullish likes of Eisenhower and Montgomery.

Comparisons have been made between Stagg and another of WWII’s unsung heroes: Alan Turing, whose course altering contribution to the war effort was captured in The Imitation Game. Certainly, both men are portrayed with the same mix of eccentricity, directness and brilliance.

But Scott’s Stagg is also a man struggling with the burden of a pregnant wife, whose due date is as imminent as D-Day, yet whose fate becomes unclear during a crunch moment in his work. It adds an extra dimension to the pressure cooker style of the film.

Brendan Fraser plays Eisenhower with more earnestness and pain than bombast: a man still haunted by his ‘error’ in judgement that cost approximately 639 young men their lives during a pre D-Day training exercise called Exercise Tiger. It is the aftermath of these events that open the film, setting the sobering, sombre tone with some striking images of lifeless bodies washing up on bloody tides.

Fraser does cut loose with anger and frustration on a couple of occasions and his interplay with Scott is suitably intense. But it’s also nicely counter-balanced by the interventions of Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon), his wartime secretary (with whom he may well have had a romantic connection).

Condon offers compassion and restraint, offering a clear mind amid the hot headedness of the military giants around her. She almost serves as Eisenhower's conscience. And her performance is nicely pitched.

Elsewhere, Damian Lewis brings a certain arrogance and frustration to his Montgomery, positioning himself as one of the primary challengers to Stagg’s position - even if it does put the lives of more men at risk. It’s the one performance that arguably could have benefited from more nuance, given the admiration that many British soldiers held him with. Lewis has stated that “Monty was a particular flavour, and he wasn't liked by everybody”.

“[But] he was adored by his men,” continued Lewis in an interview with Radio Times. “That's not the Monty we saw in this. We didn't have time. It's not a film about Monty. He's there to, I think, give a sincere and seriously committed military argument to come up against Stagg's meteorological argument, so that's the purpose he serves.”

Chris Messina, meanwhile, plays rival meteorologist Crick as a somewhat maverick people pleaser, whose strict adherence to outdated weather predictions and lack of appreciation for Northern European weather variations could have jeopardised the success of D-Day as a whole. He shares some suitably verbose moments with Scott that capably heighten the tension.

Maras, for his part, maintains a steady grip on viewers’ attention throughout, content to let his cast command the screen, while ensuring that the film remains respectful to the men and women who oversaw the successful implementation of the operation, as well as to the fact that D-Day itself still cost thousands of lives (an estimated 4,414 Allied troops were confirmed killed, with 10,000 casualties).

His last act combines real footage of D-Day with battle scenes that recall the opening of Saving Private Ryan and offer a sobering reminder of the grim reality [and horrendous sacrifice] of war, albeit on a smaller scale (in line with the film’s smaller budget).

But then this is very much part of the film’s own mission: to pay tribute to that courage and sacrifice and to act as a historical reminder... but also to serve as a warning about the cost of war, at a time when the world once more appears to be on the brink.

Likewise, the script manages to weave in salient messages about the power of Mother Nature and the dangers of ignoring it… again, with a nod to contemporary times [climate change]. One of the film’s most thought provoking quotes is delivered by Scott, when he states: “How can the weather be boring? It feeds us. The weather can destroy us. It controls our daily life.”

Another point in Pressure’s favour also lies in its relationship to historical fact. It is largely accurate, with dramatic licence being used to condense timelines (Stagg was actually appointed to his role in 1943, not 60-odd days before D-Day). His team also drew from a much wider collection of experts (working across three different teams from the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, the Meteorological Office and the Royal Navy Meteorological Service).

But it does also offer some interesting little known facts too. Messina’s Crick did correctly predict calm weather on the day that the crew of Gone With the Wind filmed the burning of Atlanta.

And it is also true that the Associated Press mistakenly announced the invasion in advance, that inflatable tanks were used by Allies as decoys and that a report from Blacksod Point weather station in Ireland ended up being absolutely vital in the decision to launch D-Day on June 6.

Pressure therefore has a lot to recommend it. The film stands as a fitting tribute to the men and women it seeks to honour, while also having something relevant to say to modern audiences.

Certificate: 12A

Running time: 1hr 40mins