‘Operation Mincemeat’: A dead body dupes the Nazis in stylish film that’s sometimes heavy, sometimes crazy
The changes in tone work as a British officer (Colin Firth) uses a ridiculous plan to save thousands of lives.
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Mincemeat ’ : A dead body toàn thân dupes the Nazis in stylish film that’s sometimes heavy, sometimes crazy
A chết drifter ( Lorne Macfadyen, left ) is enlisted mập pose as a late military officer by a coroner ( Paul Ritter ) và two intelligence agents ( Matthew Macfadyen & Colin Firth ) in “ Operation Mincemeat. ”Netflix
From “ Operation Crossbow ” ( 1965 ) lớn “ The Enigma ” ( 2002 ) béo “ The Imitation Game ” ( năm trước ) lớn “ Hacksaw Ridge ” ( năm nay ), we’ve seen so sánh many movies shining the spotlight on real-life heroes, many of them not hugely well-known, from World War II. Time & again, just when we think there can’t possibly be a made-for-Hollywood World War II story that’s yet phệ be told, we learn there are more. Many, many more .
Here’s one for you : Operation Mincemeat. That sounds lượt thích the tiêu đề of a 1980 s teen comedy about a school bully who threatens mập make “ mincemeat ” out of our mild-mannered anh hùng, but this was actually the code name for an absolutely insane, totally bonkers, no-chance-this-will-work, Hail Mary pass of a mission concocted by British Intelligence phệ dupe Hitler’s forces into believing Allied forces were about béo invade Greece when in fact they were about lớn descend upon Sicily & seize it from the Axis powers .What was the kế hoạch, you ask ? Simple ! The Brits were going phệ find a recent corpse, give him an elaborate false identity, dress him as a Royal Marine officer, plant phony “ Top Secret ” papers in the briefcase chained bự his wrist, dump the body toàn thân at sea, riddle it with machine-gun bullets — và hope the information planted on the corpse’s body toàn thân would eventually make its way into the hands of German intelligence, thereby causing the enemy mập neglect Sicily in favor of shoring up its defenses in Greece .‘ Operation Mincemeat ’
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Netflix presents a film directed by John Madden and written by Michelle Ashford, based on the book by Ben Macintyre. Rated PG-13 (for strong language, some sexual content, brief war violence, disturbing images, and smoking). Running time: 128 minutes. Opens Friday at Landmark Renaissance Place in Highland Park and available Wednesday on Netflix.
I’ll give you a moment phệ absorb all that. Took me longer than that bự process that not only was this an actual World War II mission, it succeeded, và no, that’s not a spoiler alert because we’re talking about events from more than 70 years ago và bởi we really think Netflix would be giving us a movie about an outlandish covert mission that went horribly wrong và resulted in a grand triumph for Hitler ?Based on a non-fiction book by Ben Macintyre, directed with period-piece phong cách by John Madden ( “ Shakespeare in Love, ” “ The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ” ) và filled with impressive production kiến thiết, “ Operation Mincemeat ” gives us our second cinematic depiction of this operation ( after 1956 ’ s “ The Man Who Never Was ” ) và our second & most welcome dose of Colin Firth this week. Firth stars as a modern American writer in the compelling family crime drama series “ The Staircase ” — và in “ Operation Mincemeat, ” he effortlessly turns back the clock Khủng disappear into the role of British Naval Intelligence Officer Ewen Montagu, who by 1943 has seen his career stall và his wife & children leave for the safety of America, perhaps không bao giờ lớn return .
When a nhóm of intelligence officers meets lớn hatch a kế hoạch bự somehow convince the enemy that Allied Forces are NOT about mập invade Sicily, the former RAF lieutenant & unassuming MI5 agent Charles Cholmondeley ( Matthew Macfadyen, Tom on “ Succession ” ) floats a preposterous kế hoạch he has named “ Operation Trojan Horse ” và is nearly laughed out of the room — but Ewen thinks Charles is onto something, & the two officers nhóm up béo put the renamed Operation Mincemeat into motion, even as Director of Naval Intelligence John Godfrey ( Jason Issacs ) believes the kế hoạch is a waste of phút giây và provides the men with just a small staff & few resources .
“ Operation Mincemeat ” doesn’t shy away from the borderline “ Weekend at Bernie’s ” machinations that lead phệ the mission, with Ewen & Charles sifting through corpses in tìm kiếm of someone who could conceivably have been a Royal Marine officer. A Welsh drifter named Glyndwr Michael who killed himself with rat poison is given the posthumous identity of one Captain William “ Bill ” Martin, complete with a backstory that includes his loving fiancé Pam. A secretary named Jean ( Kelly Macdonald ) volunteers a photo of herself và thus becomes part of the nhóm — và the center of a love triangle involving Ewen & Charles. Director Madden và screenwriter Michelle Ashford have no qualms about “ Casablanca ” type melodrama, with Ewen & Jean speculating on the fictional romance between Bill và Pam while flirting with actually acting out the story. In another made-for-cinema dramatic flourish, our narrator is one Ian Fleming ( Johnny Flynn ) — yes, THAT Ian Fleming, who in real life was Godfrey’s personal assistant và is credited by some with being the first mập come up with the concept of Operation Mincemeat in a missive he called the Trout Memo. ( Fleming compared the deception of the enemy bự the art of fly fishing. )Firth & Macfadyen ( hey, they’ve both played Mr. Darcy ! ) are terrific together as two men who really don’t lượt thích each other, don’t trust each other & have different ways of trying lớn kết nối with Jean. When Ewen and Charles are onscreen, gravitas is the order of the day & heated exchanges often ensue — but “ Operation Mincemeat ” takes a decidedly different approach béo the material when the mission takes one farcical turn after another. ( In fact, this same material is the basis for a cơn sốt musical spoof currently in production at Riverside Studios in London. ) The shifts in tone work because even though Operation Mincemeat was ultimately a brilliant kế hoạch that saved thousands of Allied lives, it was also completely ridiculous — & thank God there was just enough space for ridiculous in certain war rooms .
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Source: https://meopari.com
