A One Mann’s Movies review of “Operation Mincemeat” (2022).
I am partial to a good war film. And I thought “Operation Mincemeat” was good… but only in parts.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
It’s 1943 and the British are planning to move back into Southern Europe. Sicily is the obvious target. And the Nazis know that Sicily is the obvious target. Ex-barrister Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth), supported by Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfadyen) is put in charge of enacting an audacious plan of deception. All they need is a dead body.
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, Johnny Flynn, Penelope Wilton, Jason Isaacs, Mark Gatiss.
Directed by: John Madden.
Written by: Michelle Ashford (based on the book by Ben Macintyre)
Twitter Handle: #operationmincemeat.
“Operation Mincemeat” Review:
Positives:
- This is a wartime story that I’d forgotten (I think I have seen the 1956 film “The Man Who Never Was”, but many years ago). It’s a ripping yarn, and the film works best when it is focused on this intrigue.
- Colin Firth is a reliable pair of hands for the stiff-upper-lip Montagu. He’s proven (for example with last year’s excellent “Supernova“) that he has great range as an actor. But THIS feels like the role he is just pitch-perfect for. Matthew Macfadyen (so good in TV’s brilliant “Succession”) also has a lot of fun as Cholmondeley (my favourite British name to ask Americans to pronounce, after St. John!).
- There’s an amusing line of comedy running through the movie with everyone seeming to be writing a novel! This is centred on a certain Ian Fleming (an unrecognisable, to me, Johnny Flynn) and some of the ‘nod nod wink wink’ Bondisms in the script are very amusing.
Negatives:
- My biggest issue with the script is the heavy emphasis on a love story between the married (but estranged) Montagu and his co-worker Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald). There’s also the unrequited attraction between Cholmondely and Leslie. I have no problem with elements of wartime romance in a movie. In classics like “The Battle of Britain”, the love story between the characters played by Susannah York and Christopher Plummer worked just brilliantly. But here, I just didn’t believe in the mutual attraction between the 61-year old Firth and the 46-year old Macdonald. Beyond that, I found the love story tiresomely intrusive, always getting in the way of progressing the main story. I felt that some aspects of the story – for example, the segments in Spain featuring Captain Ainsworth (Nicholas Rowe, a man very good with his hands!) – felt rushed and under-developed.
Summary Thoughts on “Operation Mincemeat”
It’s an interesting watch for the historical derring-do alone. But I found the lack of focus on the primary story frustrating. In the world of movies alone…. Make War; not Love!
Trailer for “Operation Mincemeat”
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ7ZXOXHZ20 .