The true story of a British whistleblower who leaked information to the press about an illegal NSA spy operation designed to push the UN Security Council into sanctioning the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Everyone knows someone that is deep into conspiracy theories. Whether it be a belief in the moon landing being fake, 9/11 being an inside job, commercial flights releasing mind-altering chemicals in chemtrails, or the government hiding the existence of aliens for 70 years, we all know someone that has a deep belief that officials are working hard to deceive and control us.
No doubt it is a simpler life when you simply trust the information that is communicated to us through the media, but every once in a while something comes to light that challenges the worldview that we can trust our own governments; every once in a while, a conspiracy is proven true. Official Secrets is one of those cases of government manipulation, in the hopes of justifying going to war.
This is shown in the opening scenes, but Official Secrets isn't so much about the plan of governments to make an illegal war legal. Instead, the film is more about their disreputable actions in controlling the dissemination of "classified" information. At the heart of this dramatization of a true story, is Katharine Gun (portrayed by Keira Knightley), and her performance is well-executed. To keep things as grounded as possible, the news reports shown in the film are the actual news reports that occurred, no fabrication or exaggeration for the sake of drama. It pushes home the idea that this really happened.
A political drama, the events are largely slow-paced, and the thriller elements come through the high stakes, as opposed to the energy or the action. Trading in explosions and gunfights for heated telephone conversations and secretive conversations in concrete parking garages, the reality of this "David v Goliath" situation is a strong source of tension and empathy. Knightley does a superb job as an honest citizen that is faced with a significant moral dilemma. The significance of leaking classified information and the consequences of doing as such is brilliantly displayed in Knightley's performance, her behaviour increasingly erratic as she faces becoming a target.
The pacing will not appeal to everyone, but it does allow for stronger character development in Knightley's portrayal of Katharine Gun. Through that, the audience gains a strong sense of pride and support for Gun as she puts every aspect of her life on the line to try and prevent an illegal war; as honourable as intentions to get, there was literally nothing for her to gain, and everything to lose. Other cast decisions are a mixed bag. Ralph Fiennes and Matt Smith are brilliant as Ben Emmerson and Martin Bright, respectively (Fiennes, in particular, was incredibly engaging on-screen). On the other hand, the remainder of the cast were decidedly one-dimensional and caricaturesque in quality.
The cinematography Florian Hoffmeister matches the tone of the film well and keeps the intrigue without unnecessarily increasing the energy or pace. Official Secrets needs slow patches. It needs to give time for the events to sink in and take an emotional toll. The success of the film relies on the audience being invested in the life of this average citizen that works a job that they do purely to pay the bills. In the end, all of the pieces come together, and it leaves you with a sense of satisfaction that leaves you craving for more.
A slow character-driven underdog story, the pacing will not appeal to this with a short attention span, but will provide gratification for those that see it through to the end. Once Ralph Fiennes enters the story, he instantly envelopes the meandering character study and provides a direction and end goal for the film. Highlighting the confusion and complete and utter helplessness that our protagonist was going through beforehand. Official Secrets is an immensely powerful film despite its reserved appearance. It does just enough to really make you question where we get our information from. Nothing is to be simply trusted.
Official Secrets is out on DVD from March 11, 2020
Originally posted to: http://djin.nz/Kr8598