by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I like to think of myself as a film fan whose “range” can be quite expansive. All I’m looking forward to is quality.
At least that’s what I tell myself. The speed at which I rush to my remote when I see a new World War II thriller has dropped is telling.
When the selection of Netflix originals dropped for the month of May, Operation Mincemeat was one I was quick to highlight. An espionage mission detailing an operation I was previously unaware of? Count me in. This particular operation entails members of British Naval Intelligence Division attempting to mislead the Nazis about their intention to invade Sicily — attempting to get the Germans to believe they intend to make land in Greece. How do they accomplish this? By planting plans on a corpse.
The other thing that sold me on this film is the great cast of British familiar faces. As the one person who’ll actually defend The King’s Speech and its Best Picture win, seeing Colin Firth back in a WWII period drama was a treat. I’m less familiar with the rest of the main players on the Mincemeat team — Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, and Penelope Wilton — but Mark Gatiss in a quirky role is always welcome, and few play a haughty jackass better than Jason Isaacs.
Director John Madden is an old hand at thrillers like this, with films like the underseen The Debt on his résumé. Technically, the team knows what they’re doing with the shots. They stand out, but not in a distracting way, just in the way that the quality is noticeable. The one note I would make is that I watched it during the day, and some nighttime scenes may benefit from a nighttime viewing.
At points, the writing is a real standout. The constructed man takes on bits and pieces of everyone’s different personalities, and that comes through without the script hitting you over the head with it. Everything about how the plan is being constructed is fantastic. It’s got a great pace to it and montages are used cleverly. That is also where I think the score (which I enjoyed overall) is used the best. I was concerned when I saw where we had progressed with 45 minutes still to go, but it navigated those waters admirably.
When it sings, it really sings. The highs are why, when it falters slightly, it’s disappointing. Tensions in the romantic subplot and the interoffice mistrust tried to, so at points felt a little forced. There are a couple lazy writing tropes. The narration is, grudgingly, used well enough. It also has a fun purpose, given the vessel. BUT THEY ALSO USE THE DAMN COLD OPEN CUT TO X MONTHS/DAYS/HOURS EARLIER THING AGAIN. So, you know, you could skip the first few minutes if you wanted to.
All told, this movie is exactly what you think it is. A well-made, well-acted World War II espionage thriller. Like these types of movies? You’ll like this one. You’ve certainly seen similar movies to this one before if you’ve delved into the genre; this is just a slightly different version.
But I’m a sucker for these stories and I still enjoyed myself. Sometimes, that’s all that’s needed.
Score: 7/10
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