At the Movies with James Phelan: Pressure

Film Review: Pressure

Growing up in a farming household, there was a ceaseless, almost obsessive interest in the weather forecast. The forecast may have come after the news but for my parents the weather often was the news.

Irish outdoor event organisers can live or die by the forecast too. But what if actual lives and the future of Europe and by extension the entire world hung on the predicted weather for one era-defining day?

That’s the incredibly pressurised crucible that Scottish chief meteorologist James Stagg (Andrew Scott) is dropped into as D-Day approaches. General Eisenhower has been tasked with planning the sea lead invasion and desperately wants to know if his selected day of June 5th will be blessed with stable suitable weather for the world’s biggest ever assembled armada.

The film is at pains to point out that if Stagg were a weak ‘yes’ man, it would be so easy to cave to the rampant bellicose mood in the war room and just rubber stamp Ike Eisenhower’s preference. Damagingly for Stagg, Ike already has a compliant weather expert called Krick who has not steered the General wrong yet.

But Stagg is a slave to data whereas Krick puts all his trust in historical precedents from old weather charts. Krick believes that going back through weather patterns is the best bellwether for the future, whereas Stagg is the more modern thinker. For the mooted invasion date, Stagg believes a storm is brewing, while Krick paints Stagg’s concerns as a storm in a teacup and that calm weather will prevail.

Knowing that Ike is being egged on to launch the incursion come hell or high water, Stagg has to speak truth to power and adamantly contend that if the sea is too choppy, most combatants will drown and never set foot on dry land. In his bid to be listened to, Stagg has to drag Krick’s apparently infallible record down. Stagg punctures Krick’s boasts by acidly asserting that predicting the weather in southern California or North Africa is child’s play, whereas volatile Northern Europe is a whole other matter.

‘Pressure’ was a stage play and in truth, the filmmakers don’t really successfully broaden it out. It’s a very interior film and this holds truth for Stagg too. He has to muster courage to address rooms packed with military men who hate what he has to say but there aren’t many speeches that linger long in the memory. Armed with the right words, this could be an Oscar worthy role for Scott but fret not, rumours abound that his very next film is destined to propel him to the forefront of the Oscar conversation.

Elsewhere, the excellent Kerry Condon gets even less to sink her teeth into. She is always good company onscreen but she is capable of so much more. As Ike, recent Oscar winner Brendan Fraser effectively evokes a climate of fear and cult of personality in which his subordinates often wilt to his will. He nails the power and passion of the General but again, everyone feels slightly more of a mouthpiece than a person.

My main gripe with the film is the central dynamic of the film doesn’t really shift until very close to the end. This leads to very repetitive scenes and dialogue. Basically, Ike’s recurring question of whether the weather will co-operate with his plans is repeated at regular intervals with growing growling increases in intensity each time. So, whether we are 20 minutes into the film or 20 minutes from the end, the question remains stubbornly the same.

In response to Ike looking for guarantees, Stagg stoically and admirably contends that he can offer no such certainty when it comes to the weather. It’s really a best guess underpinned by data. And it is nice to hear Irish weather stations and meteorologists being namechecked as the film rolls towards the most important forecast in history.

My best guess is that viewers will enjoy ‘Pressure’. It’s just surprising that we aren’t really exposed to the elements more in this contentedly contained film.