Official Secrets
Directed by:
Gavin HoodCinematography:
Florian HoffmeisterCast:
Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Matt Smith, Adam Bakri, Matthew Goode, Indira Varma, John Heffernan, Rhys Ifans, Conleth Hill, Jeremy Northam, Tamsin Greig (more)VOD (1)
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A morality tale for the 21st century, Official Secrets tells the true story of British Intelligence whistle-blower Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) who, during the immediate run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, leaked a top secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council. The memo proposed blackmailing smaller, undecided member states into voting for war. At great personal and professional risk, journalist Martin Bright published the leaked document in The Observer newspaper in London, and the story made headlines around the world. Members of the Security Council were outraged and any chance of a UN resolution in favour of war collapsed. But within days, Bush declared he no longer needed UN backing and invaded anyway. As Iraq descended into chaos, Katharine was arrested and charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. Martin faced potential charges too. Their legal battles exposed the highest levels of government in both London and Washington. (Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
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Let me get this straight: the Russians are the bad guys and Western "democracies" are the good guys. And then someone decides to make this treacherous film that maliciously stabs all the declared unshakable values in the kidneys. The best approach is to keep relying on your common sense. The film didn't bring any great revelations. All the wars for freedom of the oppressed citizens fought from across the Atlantic look the same, have similar consequences, and whoever has a problem with them will be trampled underground. At least most of the time. But I'm glad the creators decided to draw attention to this issue with such a well-made film with a great cast, and I really enjoyed it.
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A well-crafted film about a case directly related to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by American and British troops. Keira Knightley gives a very convincing performance as the plucky spy Katharine Gun, giving a very convincing performance while looking physically and mentally very exhausted, which is necessary to portray this role. Also worth mentioning is the structurally unified musical score, which manages to maintain the dramatic tension practically throughout the entire film. (75%)
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Another small big film that didn't get an Oscar nod and international fame just because a few years before the similarly conceived Spotlight did with an even juicier topic. The fact that most politicians lie, manipulate, and steal is such an unexplored and generic theme that it can easily earn minus film points even in such a very well staged procedural with GoT actors and a great Keira.
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