{"id":1650,"date":"2026-09-10T09:50:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T09:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/09\/10\/pressure-andrew-scott-excels-in-d-day-drama-that-gets-caught-between-history-and-hollywood\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T09:50:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T09:50:20","slug":"pressure-andrew-scott-excels-in-d-day-drama-that-gets-caught-between-history-and-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/09\/10\/pressure-andrew-scott-excels-in-d-day-drama-that-gets-caught-between-history-and-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"Pressure: Andrew Scott excels in D-day drama that gets caught between history and Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Secretary of state for the treasury, Scott Bessent, recently declared that the US is readying a comprehensive package of sanctions targeting Iran that in size and scale amounted to an \u201ceconomic D-day\u201d<\/a>. Although a problematic analogy that does disservice to the memory of those Allied soldiers who landed in Normandy, Bessent\u2019s choice of words does at least make clear that the events of June 6 1944 continue to have purchase in contemporary culture. <\/p>\n

For the makers of Pressure, this is no doubt reassuring. Directed by Anthony Maras and cowritten with David Haig, the film revisits the well-known story of D-day<\/a> but with a novel focus: the meteorologists who helped the generals make the decision on when exactly to land. It is beautifully shot and often engaging but flawed in key details and loses its way towards the end.<\/p>\n

Pressure is an adaptation of Haig\u2019s successful 2014 play<\/a> of the same name. At its centre is the story of Group Captain James Stagg<\/a> (Andrew Scott). Stagg was the RAF meteorologist responsible for the weather reports that helped the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser), prepare for the invasion of France.<\/p>\n

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\n War drama Pressure depicts D-day\u2019s weather forecast \u2013 what we found when we recreated the challenge using modern systems<\/a>
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Eisenhower\u2019s plan had several specific requirements deemed essential to success. These included a full moon, a low (but rising) tide, and calm seas. Accurate weather reports were an operational necessity. This was especially the case given the famously turbulent nature of the waters between Britain and France.<\/p>\n

The trailer for Pressure.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The film is at its best when it sticks closely to what had previously made the play such a success \u2013 the often tense interactions between humans dealing with enormous pressure. From the stately grounds of the Allied headquarters (Southwick House<\/a> near Portsmouth), we see Stagg argue with his American subordinate Colonel Krick (Chris Messina) over the science of forecasting. <\/p>\n

Stagg believes in using accurate real-time data from measuring stations far and wide. Krick believes that future weather cycles can be best predicted by looking at what similar pressure systems have done in previous years. On their dispute hangs the likelihood of a successful landing and also, therefore, ultimate victory in the war (or so we are told).<\/p>\n

As the narrative builds to its expected crescendo (the invasion), we also see Stagg navigate the challenge of dealing directly with the intimidating figure of General Eisenhower. And in the background throughout is another significant pressure, one that the taciturn Stagg largely keeps to himself: the uncertainty regarding the whereabouts of his pregnant wife. He has lost contact with her following a German bombing raid on her hospital.<\/p>\n

Alliance politics<\/h2>\n

The film offers two overall takeaways. First, that science is a complex and sometimes contested business. Eisenhower wants absolute certainty; Stagg can only offer the data together with his interpretation based on years of hard-won expertise. As he tussles with \u201cIke\u201d \u2013 as Eisenhower was known \u2013 we are also given a welcome lesson in the importance of speaking truth to power, regardless of the pressure that results.<\/p>\n

The second takeaway is that the success of the operation was at root the work of an alliance of Britons and Americans who worked together towards a common goal. As such, while we see plenty of disagreements and rivalries \u2013 Damien Lewis as a self-obsessed General Montgomery is particularly good \u2013 the Allies ultimately rally for what Eisenhower famously called the \u201cgreat crusade\u201d<\/a>. Given today\u2019s tensions in the transatlantic relationship this, too, is very welcome.<\/p>\n

For all its qualities, though, and for all Andrew Scott\u2019s skill in his portrayal of Stagg, the film does have some flaws.<\/p>\n

Like several other historically focused productions, Pressure overplays the extent to which it is delivering an \u201cuntold\u201d story. After all, it is based on a successful play, while the contributions of Stagg to pre-D-day planning also received attention in both The Longest Day (1962) and, more recently, Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004). Stagg himself also authored a 1971 account of his D-day role<\/a>. The story of D-day\u2019s meteorologists might not be widely known; but that\u2019s not the same as saying it is \u201cuntold\u201d.<\/p>\n

There are also some problems with Fraser\u2019s portrayal of Eisenhower. He successfully captures Ike\u2019s famously short temper as well as the extent to which he almost drove himself to breaking point in the days before the invasion. We\u2019re also given a tantalising glimpse of his close and complicated relationship with Kaye Summersby<\/a>, his indispensable driver, assistant and confidante (brilliantly played by Kerry Condon).<\/p>\n

But we see relatively little of those other qualities which made Eisenhower so well-suited to the job he\u2019d been given. Ike was an instinctive diplomat who successfully managed a transatlantic command team that included a good quota of egos and primadonnas. Unfortunately, though, this does not really come through, and we\u2019re often left with the sense that he brought to the role little more than a capacity to glare, shout, smoke and drink.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the film\u2019s biggest flaw, however, is in its final scenes which drift into what almost becomes a homage to Saving Private Ryan (1998). In doing so, Pressure loses sight of where its real contribution to the cinematic history of D-day lies. Not in revisiting the heroism of those brave souls who landed in the first waves, but in telling the story of those who worked steadfastly behind the scenes to give them the best chance possible of success.<\/p>\n

The latest in a long line of D-day focused productions, Pressure is an engaging film that shines a welcome light on an important aspect of the Allied landings. But Maras would have done well to keep the focus throughout on the fallible humans working behind the scenes in England to meet the epic challenges that accompanied an epic operation.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Sam Edwards has previously received research funding from the ESRC, the US Army Heritage and Education Center, and the US-UK Fulbright Commission. Sam is a Governor of The American Library (Norwich) and a Trustee of Sulgrave Manor (Northamptonshire) and of The D-Day Story Museum Trust (Portsmouth). <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Secretary of state for the treasury, Scott Bessent, recently declared that the US is readying a comprehensive package of sanctions targeting Iran that in size and scale amounted to an \u201ceconomic D-day\u201d. Although a problematic analogy that does disservice to the memory of those Allied soldiers who landed in Normandy, Bessent\u2019s choice of words does […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}