Directed by: Anthony Maras
Starring: Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon, Damien Lewis, Chris Messina
You wouldn't think a movie hinging on a weather forecast would be tense and thrilling, but in Pressure, the fate of D-Day and perhaps the difference between Allied victory and defeat hangs in the balance. Pressure is taut filmmaking, with very little time for any outside subplots except for one, which is universally compelling.
Pressure begins with Captain James Stagg (Scott) leaving his pregnant wife to report to General Dwight D. Eisenhower's (Fraser) headquarters in England three days before D-Day was to commence on Monday June 5. The troops and planes are ready to be deployed for the largest seaborne invasion in history. All Ike needs is to be assured that the weather will cooperate. The no-nonsense Stagg, who ruffles feathers upon arrival, dismisses the optimistic forecast by Ike's normal forecaster Irving Krick (Messina). Krick relies on historical data. (It was sunny back on June 5, 1925) but Stagg's research is more complex and detailed, although due to the meteorological technology of the time, the forecast is still an educated prediction, not a certainty, even 72 hours out.
The forecasting issue is tricky not just for logistical reasons, but for planning. A delay would risk the Germans discovering the Allied attack plans. Sending the troops into severe weather could jeopardize their lives and the entire mission. General Bernard Montgomery (Lewis) wants to move forward regardless of the weather. Ike is more cautious. He is open to delaying, but not for very long. Differences of opinion add to the stakes. Add in the disastrous dress rehearsal known as Exercise Tiger which took place six weeks earlier and cost hundreds of lives, and we see no detail is too small or should be left to chance.
I enjoyed the performances and the sense of time, place, and history that Pressure brings. We know the outcome because D-Day began June 6, 1944, but we wonder if it had been delayed any further, what would world history be like? What if the Germans were able to fortify their position better and France wasn't liberated? The title Pressure doesn't simply refer to air pressure or barometric pressure, but the weight of the impact of D-Day. Pressure understands just how big a difference one day can make while also paying proper tribute to those who gave their lives in the battle and to those behind the scenes whose job was to ensure those on the ground can do theirs.
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