17 May Operation Mincemeat Review

OPERATION: MINCEMEAT

dir. John Madden, starring Colin Firth, Matthew Macfayden, and Kelly Macdonald

In 1943, British intelligence officers Ewan Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley devise and enact possibly the greatest deception in human history: Operation Mincemeat, a giant ruse designed to fool the German army into thinking the Allied powers would attack Greece as they actually prepped for an invasion into Italy. The film depicts the attention to detail and amount of effort put into the believability behind the trick as Montagu and Cholmondeley, eventually joined by Jean Leslie, also have to fight opposition to the plan from within their own ranks.

The problem with these types of historical dramas is the knowledge of history; anyone with access to Google or Wikipedia can see how the real Operation Mincemeat ends. That, combined with the fact that Hollywood is generally hesitant in telling movies about epic failures resulting in the loss of thousands of lives, puts the burden on the film to find a way to engage the audience in a way that keeps them consistently on the hook and invested. With Operation Mincemeat, screenwriter Michelle Ashford also weaves in a smaller, more personal story of the relationship between Ewan and Jean to play against the bigger backdrop of the looming invasion. The high stakes of the invasion upon which could turn the tide of the war on the European front juxtaposed against the interpersonal drama of the team dedicated to making sure that invasion can successfully happen, is just enough to keep the viewer on the hook for its 128 minute runtime.

Starring Colin Firth and Matthew Macfayden as the chief architects of Operation Mincemeat, the pair of actors are neither slumming it nor striving for Oscar gold. Both are serviceable and competent, with Macfayden using a bit of flourish to bring life to the socially awkward Charles Cholomondeley. Firth is still leading man material, handling the dual roles of the face of the operation planning while also wooing Kelly Macdonald’s Jean Leslie. To that end, unfortunately, Firth has better chemistry with Macfayden than he does with Macdonald. The romance angle, ham fistedly shoved in to give the story more heft, is the weakest part of the movie, but the actors do the best with what they’re given.

As far as supporting cast, Jason Isaacs appears in a handful of scenes as Admiral John Godfrey, the man who gave the initial blessing on the development of Operation Mincemeat. As man who was known for his acerbic personality, Godfrey was well represented by Isaacs, who’s done some of his best work playing professional assholes. Penelope Wilton gets a handful of scenes as well as Hester, Ewen’s trusted secretary. While not in the film much, Wilton is the heart of the movie, playing as an occasional go-between for Ewan and Jean. The addition of Johnny Flynn as Ian Fleming (yes, that Ian Fleming) may seem hammy at first glance until it’s remembered that the real-life novelist did indeed play a role in Operation Mincemeat. Fleming’s performance is incredibly cheeky the small number of scenes he’s in; at any given moment, he’s a few steps away from winking at the camera and saying “ain’t I a stinker?!”

Directed by John Madden, who famously helmed the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love, Operation Mincemeat is the filmmaker’s first foray into the world of espionage. The decision to have Ian Fleming narrate the movie and break down the stakes and nature of spycraft, was a savvy one; Madden uses Fleming’s fame as a spy novelist as shorthand to get the audience to buy in to the scheme. Starting with a particularly tense scene of waiting for a message to come over teletype, Madden works his way from the beginning of the story back to that scene with the audience revisiting it with a fresh awareness of the seriousness of the stakes involved. Pacing wise, the film moves at a good clip, using the occasional bits of humor to diffuse the dourness of the situation. While not a sizzling movie that’s guaranteed to knock the viewer’s socks off, it’s one of the Madden’s best since his award nominated turn back in 1998.

Overall, Operation Mincemeat is a serviceable film that does a decent job at showing the spycraft of the time while also managing to find time for the will-they-won’t-they romance subplot as well. Colin Firth and Mattew Macfayden play well off each other, and Kelly Macdonald’s addition to the group brings a refreshing female perspective in the male-dominated spy genre. The problem with Operation Mincemeat, like 80% of the original movies distributed by Netflix, is that once it’s over, it’s almost immediately forgettable. Come year’s end, it’s unlikely that the film will end up on critic’s top 10 lists or mentioned in awards chats. It’s a decent movie that’s good for a Saturday afternoon watch after you’ve finished cleaning the house, or a Tuesday evening post-work hang. Director John Madden delivers a straightforward just-so-crazy-it-might-work story that exalts the brilliant men and women of the time. As far as espionage films ago, you could do better, but you could also certainly do worse. Operation Mincemeat is streaming on Netflix.

Final score:

Review by Darryl Mansel