This handsome British production, brilliantly cast and directed by John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”), gets caught up in the personal lives of those responsible for an elaborate code-name scheme designed to convince Hitler of the Allies The invasion is coming to Greece, not Sicily.
The steps leading up to this are alternately comical and quirky, such as the organizer staring intently at a person who might pass a photo, for their corpse. Montague teams up with a woman in the office, Jean Leslie (Kelly MacDonald), to concoct a detailed backstory for the deceased, complicating their personal circumstances embarrassingly in the process. Feel.
In addition to logistical hurdles, the team faced considerable skepticism from their superiors, whose channels with Churchill Admiral Godfrey (Jason Isaacs) were ready to throw them overboard. (In the case of Churchill, he defined the stakes and observed, “The more wonderful the plan, the more foolproof the plan must be.”)
As such, the film operates on multiple levels, and like old-fashioned capers, is also a window into history. Like its inspiration, if there are hiccups everywhere, when the smoke clears, it’s hard to think of this delicious “action” as anything but exhilarating success.
“Operation Mincemeat” will premiere on Netflix on May 11, and also in UK theaters.