“In any story, if it’s a good story, there is that which is seen and that which is hidden,” begins John Madden’s intriguing and wonderfully-acted Operation Mincemeat. “This is especially true in stories of war. Operation Mincemeat proves this to be true with the almost unbelievable story of a World War II espionage operation that not only explores the audacity of this remarkable scenario, but the equally enthralling lives of those who made this undertaking a reality.
Operation Mincemeat follows British Intelligence as they attempt to hide the Allied’s invasion of Sicily in 1943. The plan involves taking the body of a dead man, dressing him up like a member of the Royal Marines, filling his pockets with correspondence that implies that the Allies’ upcoming attack on Sicily is a ruse, and then dropping him in the ocean for the Axis powers to find. Leading the plan are two intelligence officers—Ewen Montagu (Colin Firth) and Charles Cholmondeley (Matthew Macfayden)—and a team that includes their head of section, Hester Leggett (Penelope Wilton), Jean Leslie (Kelly Macdonald), a secretary who works her way up to become an integral part of this plot, and an assistant and aspiring writer, Ian Fleming (Johnny Flynn).
Operation Mincemeat beautifully balances both what is seen and that which is hidden throughout. The machinations of this insane plan are truly remarkable, as this team has to make sure so many unlikely things happen in clockwork with each other to trick the Nazis. But even more captivating is the creation of an entirely new person for this operation to work. Montagu, Cholmondeley, and their entire team have to turn a long-dead body into Major William Martin, a man with intelligence on the Allies’ plans, but also, make him into a believable human being, with loves, wants, desires, and dreams.
As Cholmondeley states in Operation Mincemeat, everyone seems to be a storyteller, and that’s precisely what this hidden tale investigates. Primarily, Montagu, Cholmondeley, and Leslie have to figure out who Major William Martin is, crafting a person out of thin air. This includes giving the man a believable love story that will further flesh out who this person was, helping sell the deception even more.
As these three start putting this life and love story together, the relationships of these three start to shift. Cholmondeley clearly has a thing for Leslie, while the married Montagu also takes a liking to Leslie, and the two form a questionable friendship that could mean more. With this triangle of sorts, we see the crippling loneliness that war can create, how even without being in battle, war can tear people apart, separate, and leave scars that never heal.
Firth is expectedly great in this mode, exploring the gray nature of Montagu, making him the biggest wild card of the three. His intentions with Leslie are always suspect, as his wife has moved to America during the war, and MI6’s uncertainty about whether Montagu’s brother (Mark Gatiss) is a community spy, makes Montagu a fascinating character to try and figure out.
But the audience’s sympathy almost entirely lies with Cholmondeley and Leslie. Macfayden clearly wants love and honor, but is willing to put others’ needs ahead of his own. He lives with his mother, who only wants her other son to come back from the war, ignoring the son who is avoiding living his life in order to take care of her. Macfayden beautifully plays Cholmondeley with a persistent level of melancholy, where even during his successes, there’s a seeming discontent that lies under the surface. Macdonald is equally as wonderful as Leslie, a widow who seeks companionship, even if she’s aware that it might not be good for herself or the other person. Again, it’s that loneliness that seeps in during war that permeates every element of Operation Mincemeat’s incredible story.
Amongst all of this is the story of a young Ian Fleming, working with British Intelligence, and clearly gathering information for what will eventually be James Bond. Even with all these other stories intersecting and intertwining, screenwriter Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex, The Pacific) is able to throw in little Easter eggs that seem like inspiration for the young writer. One character calling another “M,” or a watch that also works as a buzzsaw are all fun added elements that hint at details we’ll be seeing in spy stories for decades to come.
Ashford’s screenplay and Madden’s excellent direction all manage to take what could’ve easily been a fairly standard historical war drama and turn it into something more intricate, layered, and surprisingly powerful. Madden and Ashford make Operation Mincemeat mix a shocking true story with a frequently heartbreaking story about the large toll war takes, even on those who aren’t on the frontlines.
Rating: B
Operation Mincemeat is available to stream on Netflix now.