Gee, this prequel to Saving Private Ryan isn’t very Spielbergian. Welcome to the world of movies where we already know the outcome; the devil is in the details. Pressure describes the weekend before D-Day within allied command. The question? Is the weather forgiving enough to launch the major counter-offensive to the Nazi occupation of France?
History knows the answer. I imagine most Europeans do as well. Several Americans know. Not President Trump, of course; that asshole has zero grasp of history because that would involve learning and humility, neither of which he is capable of displaying, ever.
The weekend before Monday, June 5, 1944 looked promising in England. Sun shining. Nary a breeze. Still, when you are launching the greatest offensive in the history of combat to date, you really want to get the deets right. On the recommendation of Winston Churchill, General Dwight Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) summoned Scottish meteorologist Captain James Stagg (Andrew Scott) to Southwick House to answer one question: Will weather allow for an invasion on Monday?
Do understand that this is 1944; weather forecasting may as well be witchcraft at this time in scientific history. Also understand that Eisenhower has his own meteorologist, Colonel Irving P. Krick (Chris Messina). Krick comes with an impeccable record, and a bit of a “yes man” streak, making Eisenhower’s choice to defer to Captain Stagg a challenging one.
The issue at hand for most of the film is that the American wants to go all in on Monday, which is what the allies want as well. Monday is the optimal time for sea and air support for such an invasion. If it can’t happen Monday the 5th, the invasion will likely be put off until June 18th at which point, you may as well be sending the Nazis a formal invitation to conflict. “Say, Hitler, would you be up for some war on the 18th? Jolly good.”
Krick’s impeccable record has been padded by a series of easy calls, weather-wise. Correctly predicting a day to be sunny and warm in Los Angeles, or to be hot and dry in Northern Africa doesn’t exactly take a meteorologist so much as a resident of either place. “What?! You’re prediction it’s going to be cold and miserable in Moscow in January? Truly you are gifted.” Hence, when Krick interprets data to predict a stable Monday, Stagg has to intervene. The English Channel ain’t the Sahara Desert.
The other big issue here is that Stagg is an over-officious type A and grade A jerk. He’s like the stern 
mirthless teacher who comes in to settle the class by immediately handing out detentions. This is the movie letting us know the severity of the task at hand in the person of James Stagg, a man who doesn’t smile. And, yet, I think this is where direction indulges where history should have pushed back a little. Do you really think there would be singing and dancing in the war room the Friday before D-Day? The idea that Captain Stagg has to step in, law down the law and remind everyone there is a really important war thing coming right up seems a little … far-fetched. In addition, I can’t say I dug Brendan Fraser’s portrayal of Eisenhower. The future President and current allied commander strikes as stoic, a thinker, the exact person you’d want in charge if the fate of the free world were in the balance. Fraser -who has done stellar of late- strikes me as too emotional for this role. That could be by design to let the audience know how much we ought to care; I just didn’t find it historically accurate.
Pressure is the first WWII film I can recall where and American (Krick) is the villain. I’d have to search my memory for something similar. But, of course, the Nazis aren’t in pressure at all, which seems a shame as 1) They are the true villains and 2) We have gotten away from Nazi bashing of late, with pretty horrible results as a nation. The film doesn’t lack for drama, and even though we know the outcome and realize that this is just a much smaller version (in every.single.way) than Saving Private Ryan, Pressure holds a reasonable place in WWII film. Truth is, I’ll see Ryan a dozen times over again before I’d even consider watching Pressure a second time, but that doesn’t make it a bad film.
There once was a weatherman, Stagg
Whose prospects were like to sag
For all the persuasion
He did ixnay invasion
Because Monday was clearly not “in the bag”
Rated PG-13, 100 Minutes
Director: Anthony Maras
Writer: David Haig, Anthony Maras
Genre: “I wonder what’s gonna happen”
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: WWII buffs, Mother Nature
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Nazis, sorta
