For the past 80+ years, we’ve been exposed to what happened on D-Day from virtually every conceivable angle – the beaches, the boats, and, of course, the bloodshed. But we haven’t been given enough insight into the internal decisions and tensions that the Allied forces went through during WWII.
“Pressure,” directed by Anthony Maras and adapted from David Haig’s 2014 stage play, plants its proverbial flag in this cinematically malnourished territory. In the film, we’re led through the forecasting tents and map-strewn corridors of Southwick House. The result is one of the most quietly tense war films released in recent years.
The film’s premise is deceptively simple. It’s June 1944. The largest amphibious invasion in history is prepared to take place. All that stands between the Allies and Operation Overlord is a question that, at the time, no general was adequately prepared to answer: What is the weather going to be in two days? Expertise in weather behavior, as it relates to war, is not something discussed very often.
While watching this film, it struck me that war reduces everything – strategy, valor, sacrifice – to a set of variables. In this instance, the variable happened to be the sky.
Irish actor Andrew Scott plays Group Capt. James Stagg, the Scottish meteorologist who looked at his barometric pressure data and saw catastrophe where other veteran meteorologists saw clear skies. Stagg isn’t a conventional war hero. He isn’t a decorated war veteran, and he doesn’t have command of anyone or anything. The only thing he has in his corner is the credibility of his own data. What’s more is that his battlefield is a briefing room, and his adversary, he comes to find out, is disbelief among his peers.
“I am not here to give you the weather you want, General,” Stagg says. “I am here to give you the weather that is coming.”
Brendan Fraser as Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a delight to see. Since breaking back into acting with “The Whale” in 2022, it's been exciting to watch Fraser secure roles that utilize his knack for emotional intensity. Eisenhower is caught in a double bind: launch into a storm, or delay the offensive and risk losing the element of surprise against the Germans. Fraser manages to express the utter loneliness of supreme command beautifully.
Eisenhower was a man who had the unenvious duty of making a decision that would see the inevitable death of young American men, no matter the direction he chose.
Chris Messina’s Col. Krick adds the necessary friction as Stagg’s counterpart, a charismatic American forecaster, who, leaning on historical records, insists that there’s nothing but blue skies ahead. The disagreement between Stagg and Krick is what drives the narrative, without reducing itself to melodrama or caricature-like representations of these important men.
“Pressure” shows us that the most paralyzing moments, the most frightening moments, are not always those in the trenches. Sometimes, it’s the moment when you must make an irreversible decision, without perfect information, and continue to live within that commitment.
“Nature doesn't care about your schedule, Ike,” Stagg says. “It doesn't care about the liberation of Europe. It just moves.”
This is the underbelly of war that cinema often fails to address. We understand the heroism of action and sacrifice, but we don’t always understand the pain of deliberation. The process of making decisions isn’t glamorous. It’s boring and tedious. And the ideal circumstances are rarely available, for there are always issues to troubleshoot.
After finishing the film, it was important for me to get a better sense of how Eisenhower saw the success of D-Day, and if he gave credit directly to Stagg. I discovered that, years after the war, President-elect John F. Kennedy asked Eisenhower why the invasion of Normandy had been so successful. “Because we had better meteorologists than the Germans,” Eisenhower responded.
Let us remember that war doesn’t have a soundtrack. Often, the most important victories in any conflict are the ones made internally, the ones that never make the news. War is a devastating reality, and, as Stagg might say, victory or defeat is often determined by a few millibars of pressure.
Collin Jones holds a BA in Film and an MFA in prose writing. Before transitioning into marketing, he worked as an editor at Blaze Media. He is the author of the novel "Project: Sleepless Dream" and a short story collection called "The Desertianists." In his free time, he writes on "Concordant Student."
This culture article was made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal, a project of 1819 News. To comment on this article, please email [email protected]. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News.
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