{"id":55640,"date":"2026-05-27T09:26:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T01:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=55640"},"modified":"2026-05-27T09:26:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T01:26:38","slug":"brendan-fraser-d-day-drama-is-a-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=55640","title":{"rendered":"Brendan Fraser D-Day Drama Is a Winner"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Pressure opens in theaters on May 29.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pressure focuses on the 72 hours leading up to D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 that ultimately paved the way for the downfall of the Nazis. You\u2019ll never see a more important movie about weather forecasts than this well-crafted, solidly performed drama directed by Anthony Maras and based on David Haig\u2019s 2014 play of the same name.<\/p>\n

Pressure dramatizes the fateful choice that General Dwight D. \u201cIke\u201d Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser), the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, must make when informed by meteorologist Group Captain James Stagg (Andrew Scott) that massive storms may occur on the invasion\u2019s planned date of June 5th. If the Allies delay D-Day too long, they will lose the element of surprise against the Germans and their best shot at winning the war. But if they go ahead with a massive seaborne invasion during such weather, they risk the whole operation failing and thousands of lives being needlessly lost.<\/p>\n

Fraser finds Eisenhower\u2019s vulnerabilities and flaws while maintaining his commanding presence. He cares deeply about his men, but can also be single-minded and demanding. The film also tenderly depicts the close bond between Ike and his chauffeur and personal secretary, Lt. Kay Summersby (a warm Kerry Condon), who acts as the gatekeeper to the general. They\u2019re not a romantic item, mind you, so much as work spouses who know each other well enough to speak frankly.<\/p>\n

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As important as Fraser\u2019s Eisenhower is to Pressure, the film\u2019s main protagonist is Stagg, played by Scott as a brilliant but difficult man. Stagg\u2019s softer side is really only evident to his pregnant wife before he leaves for duty at Southwick House, the rural English headquarters of Operation Overlord. (Batman Begins\u2019 Wayne Manor, aka Mentmore Towers<\/u>, stands in for the real location.)<\/p>\n

Stagg is a stubborn but ultimately fair taskmaster who demands results from his team. He almost immediately clashes with his American counterpart, the humblebragging meteorologist Irving Krick (Chris Messina), whom Ike has come to deeply trust thanks to their past campaigns. But Stagg and Krick have wildly different approaches to crafting a long-range forecast for D-Day. Stagg collects and analyzes a wide array of readings and data coming to him in real time; Krick relies on statistical analogue techniques that forecast based on historical patterns. Stagg believes the weather will be awful on June 5th while Krick insists it will be fine. <\/p>\n

The brass do not want uncertainty from their meteorologists. Eisenhower and his military commanders, including General Bernard “Monty” Montgomery (a perfectly snide Damian Lewis, reuniting here with his Band of Brothers co-star Andrew Scott), are frustrated that there isn\u2019t a unified recommendation. Monty and others believe if they don\u2019t go on June 5th \u2013 and wait until mid-June as Stagg suggests \u2013 they may as well start learning to speak German.<\/p>\n