The true story behind Operation Mincemeat is an irresistible stranger-than-fiction tale, which was already brought to the screen once in the 1956 film The Man Who Never Was. The latest adaptation, from director John Madden and screenwriter Michelle Ashford, presents a straightforward, sometimes staid version of the story, led by a talented cast that brings the historical material to life. Released in theaters in the U.K. but debuting in the U.S. on Netflix, Operation Mincemeat is the kind of middlebrow true-life drama that used to be awards-fodder and is now something closer to comfort viewing.
That doesn't mean that Operation Mincemeat isn't a well-made, engrossing movie, though. It would be hard to make the actual facts of the 1943 covert operation less than compelling, and Madden (Shakespeare in Love, The Debt, Miss Sloane) and Ashford are both consummate professionals. They add just enough of a personal story to augment the sometimes dry espionage tale, balancing out the military maneuvers with an exploration of the emotional cost of World War II.
As the movie opens, the war has already taken a toll on Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth) and Charles Cholmondeley (Succession's Matthew Macfadyen), both members of the Twenty Committee, a British intelligence team in charge of deception and double agents. Ewen has sent his Jewish wife and two young children to live in the United States to keep them safe from potential German attacks on London, and it's put a strain on his marriage. Charles is mourning the battlefield death of his brother, whose body has yet to be returned to the family.
Ewen is a newcomer to the Twenty Committee, but he and Charles are immediately on the same wavelength about the best plan to divert Nazi attention away from a forthcoming Allied invasion of Sicily. The British government wants to convince Adolf Hitler that the Allies are actually planning a massive offensive in Greece so that Nazi troops will be moved away from Sicily. The Committee's priggish, officious leader, Admiral John Godfrey (Jason Isaacs), prefers traditional tactics involving troop maneuvers.
Ewen and Charles propose a plan from a memo outlined by Godfrey's assistant -- and the future creator of James Bond -- Lt. Commander Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn) instead. They'll plant a corpse in the sea off the coast of Spain made to look like a British pilot who drowned after his plane crashed. The corpse will be carrying official-looking fake papers outlining an operation in Greece, and corrupt officials in ostensibly neutral Spain will funnel those papers to the German military.
The idea is both simple and outlandish, involving far more elaborate planning than it might seem at first glance. The first half of Operation Mincemeat is mostly devoted to the logistics of putting the plan in place. It's exciting and well-paced, even though it largely involves Ewen, Charlie, and the other members of their team taking various meetings. Godfrey gives them only limited resources, setting them up to fail, but Ewen has brought along his ingenious longtime secretary Hester Leggett (Downton Abbey's Penelope Wilton), and they also recruit eager clerk Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald). Hester and Jean prove instrumental in crafting the kind of detailed personal background that will make the operation's fake officer seem like the real thing to skeptical German intelligence agents.
The process of creating a wartime romance for the man they dub Major William Martin brings Ewen and Jean closer together, even as the shy, awkward Charles has eyes for Jean himself. Dedicating time to a love triangle while the fate of an entire military operation is at stake could seem superfluous, but Madden and the actors keep it low-key, giving it the right amount of emotional resonance to demonstrate how devoted these characters are to making sacrifices for their country. They're all prime examples of proper British reserve, whether executing complex espionage maneuvers or pining for unrequited lovers, but the actors convey the strong emotions behind the stiff upper lips.
Both the filmmakers and the characters afford the proper respect to the dead man they choose to become their fake military officer. Operation Mincemeat is a humane sort of spy story, always conscious of the personal cost of wartime decisions. There's less of an emphasis on suspense, although Madden creates tension in certain moments as the team waits for word on whether aspects of their plan have succeeded as intended. Operation Mincemeat is set during a war and culminates in a large-scale invasion, but there's almost no action, just scheming and negotiating. It's a testament to the filmmakers' skill that they can make those moments nearly as exciting as troops storming a beach at night.
Ashford is a TV veteran whose credits include HBO series The Pacific and John Adams, and there's a TV-drama quality to Operation Mincemeat that Madden never quite overcomes. It's not a grand epic, but it's not really meant to be. It's a pleasantly modest movie that effectively illuminates a somewhat forgotten corner of history.
Operation Mincemeat premieres Wednesday, May 11 on Netflix.