Director: Anthony Maras
Starring: Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, Damian Lewis
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 100 mins

Pressure is an adaptation of the stage play of the same name by David Haig about meteorologist, James Stagg (Andrew Scott), who helps Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) plan the Normandy landings during the Second World War. Stagg is tasked with providing Eisenhower with an accurate forecast – it wouldn’t be wise for the troops to storm the Germans in poor conditions. While he’s stationed at Southwick House, he clashes with Colonel Irving P. Krick, who leads the US section of the team and predicts the weather based on historical pattern readings – Stagg quickly tells him this isn’t the right way to go about this because of Northern Europe’s unpredictable climate. Back at home, Stagg’s wife Liz (Tamsin Topolski) is pregnant and heading into hospital any day – but James is kept in the dark at Southwick House because outside communications are not permitted.

While you can occasionally tell Pressure is based on a stage play, this is a gripping war drama with some excellent performances. Andrew Scott is terrific in the lead as the mild-mannered, but fiercely logical Scotsman and Brendan Fraser is excellent as the towering Eisenhower. There’s fun turns from the rest of the star-studded cast, including Kerry Condon, Chris Messina, Damian Lewis and Con O’Neill. Volker Bertelmann’s score is rousing, and it’s competently shot by Jamie D. Ramsay, especially a shot of bloodied bodies washing up on the French shore.

It’s just a real shame that there’s so many historical inaccuracies, with examples including but not limited to the fact that Norwegian Sverre Petterssen was the decisive meteorologist on whether D-Day could be carried out, that Stagg joined the staff just days before the invasion and that his wife gave birth to their son immediately after. While all of these ingredients contribute to Pressure‘s high stakes, knowing that what the film is representing isn’t true really cheapens it.

I can understand why biopics take some creative liberties, but fabricating events to this extent is just beyond the pail – Eddie The Eagle is another example of a very engaging biopic, but one that’s also cheapened by a ton of inaccuracies.

So while Pressure is undeniably a well-directed film with some top-notch performances and a thoroughly enjoyable cinema experience, it’s significantly marred by its historical inaccuracies.