Out this week in Irish cinemas is Pressure, starring Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon and Damian Lewis. Set during the final days leadng up to D-Day, Pressure follows the men and women trying to figure out if the weather will be suitable for the troops to land on Normandy to push back against the Nazis.
It’s an interesting concept, one I had never thought of before and there have been many films about WWII, in particular D-Day that deal with from multiple angles. Films like The Intimidation Game and Saving Private Ryan come to mind. With Pressure, director Anthony Maras hones in on an element that is glaringly obvious to those looking for it. If the weather is against the allies on D-Day then they have two enemies that day to face down and it will make victory almost impossible.
This ensemble cast is a group of heavy hitters, Fraser is giving a powerful performance as General Eisenhower. Not simply a man looking to win a war, he is also haunting by the failure of Operation Tiger, a rehearsal for D-Day that went disastrously wrong. He cannot and will not accept anything but positive results from everyone around him, even if that includes trying to reign in the heavens. Fraser is brilliant in the role continuing to impress since he stepped back on the scene several years ago.
Scott is on the other side of the spectrum, James Stagg is a reserved man, a man who speaks on facts and doesn’t let emotion or hunches get the better of him. Unfortunately this rubs everyone up the wrong way as his pragmatist attitude knocks against the other experts beliefs that Monday, June 5th will be the perfect day for storming the beaches. His no nonsense attitude clashes with everyone around him. It’s a hard character to like on paper, but I couldn’t help but be charmed by Scott’s performance.
The wrath of nature is real
A character that was a particular highlight for me was Damian Lewis’ General Bernard Montgomery. If Eisenhower is the man trying to bring the heavens into line to help his men, General Montgomery is the devil, ready to throw wave after wave of his own men into hell until they break down the walls of Normandy with their broken bodies. He’s a devil, consumed by the war he has fought for so long.
The whole cast is what make Pressure an enjoyable film, unfortunately it is quite by the numbers when it comes to storytelling. There are several montages, followed by the usual clashing of ideals, because Stagg isn’t as well liked as his American counterpart he must take the slings and arrows of his colleagues. It’s the usual crucible a man of Stagg’s intelligence but social inferiority must face in a film like this. The film is dotted with many of these tropes, they of course come hand in hand with the genre, but Pressure, in my opinion doesn’t handle them as well as other films of the genre.
I will say the final act comes together well, culminating in a climax that builds on the earned tension of the previous two thirds of the film. Pressure will likely go down as an excellent companion piece with other WWII era films.
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