‘Pressure’ Review: Brendan Fraser and Andrew Scott In D-Day drama

If you have seen Oscar-winning accounts of the June 6, 1944, seaborne invasion in Normandy, known as D-Day, in classic films like Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan and 1962’s all-star epic The Longest Day, you probably believe you know all you need to know about that fateful day that changed world history. Think again.

Just when it seems there is no angle of WWII unexplored, along comes Pressure, the story of how conflict over forecasting what the weather would be on those beaches in France in order to pull off this complex and risky Allied invasion against the Nazis. That’s right, the weather! How director Anthony Maras is able to make this moment in the war such a cinematic, edge-of-your-seat thriller about predicting the weather conditions is a bit of a miracle itself, but he has done it. It is not really a story widely known to general audiences, and here it carries remarkable power and a message for world leaders that resonates to this day, making Pressure a crackerjack film detailing a historical event in the lead-up to it, even more than its actual execution, but also a stirring and pertinent lesson that is as relevant today as much as ever.

Based on David Haig’s hit 2012 play of the same name, Haig and Maras have collaborated on scripting this film, which, like the stage version, largely takes place on one very big set. This is where the generals, notably Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser), gather to make crucial decisions, live-or-die determinations that can affect millions of lives. With him is trusted aide and very opinionated meteorologist Irving Krick (Chris Messina), who has given him key weather forecasts on several campaigns and is doing so again for perhaps the biggest ever attempted, a seaborne invasion onto the beaches of Normandy in France planned for June 5, 1944. But wait, didn’t D-Day happen on June 6?

This is where the battle first plays out, over 72 hours before the actual event, with the arrival of noted meteorologist Dr. James Stagg (Andrew Scott), a no-nonsense, not-so-friendly man who remains confident of his abilities to correctly call the weather forecast when it counts the most. Instant conflict is created, especially with Krick, when he says the latter’s prediction of perfect conditions for June 5 is heavily disputed by Stagg’s calculations that it would be disastrous to launch on that day. Who do you trust?

That is the conundrum for Eisenhower and others, notably the ever-opinionated General Bernard “Monty” Montgomery (Damian Lewis), who has a way of being lovably obnoxious and is not at a loss for words or ideas. With his longtime relationship with Krick, Eisenhower is skeptical of Stagg’s forecast but is a man who will hear even what he doesn’t necessarily want to hear. He is a leader (and future president) who only wants to get it right, and that means listening to anyone in the room who can help in that regard, even someone who on the surface is seemingly as unlikable as Stagg.

This is what Pressure is all about, and even if we are aware of the outcome and the fact D-Day took place on June 6, not June 5, the suspense level is high and this becomes a story that really pops. Much of that is thanks to this terrific cast, starting with Scott, who invests Stagg with understatement and a duty to serve his country and to deliver the facts, no matter how unpopular his analysis may be or how conflicted it gets with Krick and other doubters. Stagg, in the middle of all this, also is dealing with the most personal of circumstances with his wife (Tamsin Topolski), who is pregnant but who also might be in harm’s way. As Scott so brilliantly plays him, this is a man suffering in silence, caught up in heartbreaking circumstances, but also has a job to do and knows the consequences of failing.

Although at first Fraser might not have come to mind as the perfect Eisenhower, you can rest assured that he is. This actor nails exactly what made Ike the kind of leader you want in this situation, a man with a decision that is everything. The film’s title, Pressure, doesn’t begin to explain the stakes here. Lewis as the ever-colorful Montgomery and Messina playing the surefooted Krick both really liven up the debate. A very fine Kerry Condon contributes much-needed warmth and a female presence as Lt. Kay Summersby, a trusted aide to Ike when he needs it most.

Daniel Taylor’s impressive production design and Volker Bertelmann’s precise score add immensely along with the top-notch camera work of Jamie D. Ramsay, who manages the not-so-simple task of matching actual colorized documentary footage of the invasion into the film’s own template. As editor in addition to director, Maras makes it all look seamless and authentic.

Producers for the Studio Canal and Working Title production are Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Cass Marks and Lucas Webb. Focus Features is releasing just in time for the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, and I can’t think of a better reminder of the greatness and courage of those who made the crucial decisions toward its legendary triumph. If only we had this kind of true leadership in a world that desperately still needs it.

Title: Pressure
Distributor: Focus Features
Director: Anthony Maras
Screenwriters: Anthony Maras and David Haig
Cast: Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, Damian Lewis, Tamsin Tupolski, Jojo Macrei, Alexandra Hanson, Con O’Neill
Rating: PG-13
Running time: 1 hr 40 mins