Pressure

 Pressure came out over a week ago, but because it was about D-Day, I held off watching it until last Saturday, the anniversary of D-Day. Sure, I could have had it watched and reviewed by last Saturday, but I wasn’t under that much pressure.

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Let’s dive right in.

It’s 72-hours before the Allies start storming the beaches. Group Captain James Stagg (Andrew Scott) is summoned by General Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) to help man his weather team. He and Col. Irving Krick (Chris Messina) - Eisenhower’s favorite meteorologist - are tasked with monitoring the English Channel. They need to confirm sunny skies - or close enough - before Eisenhower declares D-Day on June 5th …

Yes, June 5th, as that was when D-Day was supposed to be. Krick is certain it’ll be sunny by then due to historical weather patterns. Stagg, who prefers to observe in real-time, sees a major storm brewing. Ike, meanwhile, needs a clear answer sooner rather than later. His secretary, Captain Kay Summersby (Kerry Condon), is mostly there to help cool heads prevail. You can probably guess how it’ll turn out, and which weatherman is correct.

Its historical angle is perhaps its most interesting aspect. I mean, how many of us thought about the meteorological planning that went into D-Day? Or that it was delayed by a day? Or the contributions of James Stagg? It was just a subplot in The Longest Day, which I admittedly haven’t seen before, but it’s now the main plot here. I probably have forgotten studying that aspect in school, if at all. I probably won’t anymore.

So, how does it go from a subplot in one movie to the main plot in another? Well, the cast argues a lot, that’s how. Krick boasts about forecasting clear weather during the shoot of Gone with the Wind. Stagg is so annoyed that he doesn’t bring up the Battle of Mount Sorrel until a late reveal. It’s kind of easy to lose focus during all this repetitive arguing. At some point, I wondered how it would translate into a stage play, only to discover during the credits that, yes, this was a stage play (by David Haig, who adapted it with director Anthony Maras). Thankfully, it’s only 100-minutes long, so it’s not too stretched out. Plus, there were a few good lines.

Now, for a few issues. The film opens up with the aftermath of Exercise Tiger, a D-Day rehearsal that went horribly wrong. That's all we know about it, but Ike is haunted by it just the same. While this lets Fraser humanize Ike rather well, I wish the film elaborated on it. I couldn't bring myself to dislike Krick, despite him being the antagonist. For one thing, you kind of feel for him when it starts raining on the 4th. His involvement with Gone with the Wind is a neat anecdote, even if it bugged me when he said the Burning of Atlanta scene was in July 1939 (it was actually in December 1938!). Stagg worrying about his wife, Liz's (Tamsin Topolski) fate is more compelling than the weather arguing. I think that's about it.

There's some good location filming at Mentmore Towers, which stand in for the Allies' HQ at Southwick House. Its depiction of Exercise Tiger's aftermath is appropriately horrific and unforgettable. Its visual effects work, whether they involve a weather balloon popping in orbit or D-Day itself, is splendid. Some of the sound team's best work is featured in the D-Day's climactic kick-off; not far behind is the storm on June 4th. Also noteworthy are its colorized restoration of World War II stock clips, and another perfectly intense score by Volker Bertelmann. 

Pressure is more of a history lesson than a thriller. Its conclusion is foregone, but its central anecdote is interesting, as are a few names that the story left out (like Svere Petterssen). All that talking pays off once you see D-Day in action. If anything, it might be a good prompt to learn about D-Day for yourself. Of course, it might not be long before it gets crowded out of theatres. So, see it soon if you want to see it big.

No Pressure...