Pressure sneaks onto the big screen this past weekend, perhaps hidden under the hype of both Obession and Backrooms, and that’s a bit of a shame. It’s a World War Two film starring Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser, but instead of being about soldiers on the front line, it’s about a weather report, one that will ultimately help shape the course of the war and history in general.
Andrew Scott stars as James Stagg, a respected meteorologist who is assigned by Churchill himself to aid Fraser’s General Eisenhower in producing a weather report that will dictate whether or not June 5th will be D-Day. What ultimately follows is a clash of ego, pride, vanity, and desperation. Stagg believes that the fifth will be ill-suited for the landing in France due to an incoming storm, while his colleagues and military high command, including Chris Messina as Irving P. Krick and Damien Lewis’ Bernard Montgomery, cite historical weather patterns and the fact that the longer they wait to launch D-Day, the higher the chance the Germans will learn about the invasion.
This could have easily been a film that got bogged down in the weeds, but at 100 minutes with credits, Pressure wastes no time, charging towards its conclusion with breakneck speed, and more importantly, urgency. The movie takes place over the course of a long weekend, and the high command needs an answer on Sunday. This ultimately ends up being a movie about the hardships of changing the minds of powerful beings, despite being the best of the best in your respective field. Stagg isn’t some random weatherman; Churchill himself called him a genius, and yet despite that endorsement, he has regular challenges, particularly with Krick and Montgomery.
Fraser steps into the role of General Eisenhower, and while I wouldn’t say he’s miscast, I would say I was aware that it was Fraser playing the future president. Whether this was due to the looks or line delivery, it’s hard to say, but I found it harder to buy into his role. Not that he did a bad job though, which is the interesting thing. He certainly commits, and it’s a solid role, just compared to the very well-documented figure, Fraser just doesn’t seem like the right person to capture Eisenhower. The rest of the cast does a lot better, from Scott as the strict, no-nonsense Stagg who has so much to prove, Lewis as the ruthlessly impatient and narrow-minded Montgomery (obligatory Band of Brothers recommendation for WWII and Lewis), and Kerry Condon rounds out the core cast as Kay Summersby, Eisenhower’s personal aid, who works closely with Stagg over the course of the few days.
I’d say if you enjoyed such World War II films as The Imitation Game, about brilliant minds working behind the scenes for the war effort, then this would make for a great double-billing with that film. Pressure is well-made, well-acted overall, well-shot and smart, with no padding or dead weight in its runtime. Recommended.
