- Director: Anthony Maras
- Screenplay: David Haig, Anthony Maras
- Based on: ‘Pressure‘ by David Haig
- Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Cass Marks, Lucas Webb
- Cast: Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, Damian Lewis
- Cinematography: Jamie D. Ramsay
- Editing: Anthony Maras
- Score: Volker Bertelmann
- Genre: War drama
- Runtime: 100 minutes
Predicting the weather is a foolish undertaking. As I’m writing this, the sky has cleared up a bit yet, earlier today, the heavens opened.
A meteorologist’s job isn’t all guesswork and luck. They collate data; the temperature, the air pressure, the humidity and cloud cover to create a forecast for tomorrow. Gauging the weather more than 24 hours henceforth is looking too far ahead.
So when meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott) is whisked away from his suburban home and pregnant wife to Southwick House in the English countryside on the orders of General Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser), he’s in for a headache and a half. He has just 61 hours to estimate the weather conditions of the following Monday, the day proposed as ‘D-Day’, in which Allied troops shall storm the beaches of Nazi-occupied France.
Nobody is a soothsayer. The future is uncertain. There’s turbulent weather over the Atlantic – will this hinder their plans to attack on June 5th? The men in charge are playing a game of human chess. One false move could jeopardise everything and gift the enemy a victory. The decisions made in this room dictate the fates of scores of soldiers. It’s the eye of the storm.
The opening scene is striking; it portrays the failed test run for the invasion. A young man’s body lying on the beach, waves of blood washing ashore. Many lives lost. And this was the rehearsal.
For the most part, ‘Pressure‘ is set within the walls of Southwick House. It’s not the flashiest of films but it proves war pictures don’t have to consist purely of explosions and a constant stream of fatalities. I found it captivating and could feel the clock ticking down, especially thanks to Volker Bertelmann’s score. In amongst boisterous American military personnel, Stagg isn’t particularly popular. His steely determination ruffles feathers in a room full of esteemed and respected officers who have experienced armed combat. Andrew Scott is fantastic as Stagg while Brendan Fraser adds a layer of humanity to the imposing figure of Eisenhower.
If diamonds are formed under pressure, then this film is definitely a gem.
My rating: 8 / 10
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