Pressure (12A)

Andrew Scott brings intensity to this tightly wound World War II drama, turning a question about weather into a matter of life and death. It finds plenty of tension in the crucial countdown to D-Day.

Three days before the Allied invasion, Scottish meteorologist James Stagg (Scott) advises General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) on whether conditions are safe for Operation Overlord. Stagg predicts weather makes an immediate launch too dangerous, putting him at odds with American meteorologist Irving Krick (Chris Messina) and figures including Field Marshal Montgomery (Damian Lewis).

Based on David Haig’s play, the film unfolds inside military headquarters, with competing forecasts and clashing personalities raising the stakes. Director Anthony Maras keeps things moving with a ticking-clock structure, while archive footage and staged combat give invasion a sense of scale.

Scott is excellent as the stern, principled Stagg, making his reserved character compelling without forcing sympathy. Fraser brings theatricality to Eisenhower, while Kerry Condon adds warmth as his secretary.

There’s little action until the closing stages, but the battle of ideas proves absorbing. Smart, efficient and grounded in a true story, this makes weather forecasting feel genuinely, unexpectedly thrilling.