Rent Pressure (2026)

Fair to Partly Gripping - Pressure review by griggs

Andrew Scott spends most of this one squinting at charts like the fate of the free world depends on it, which, in fairness, it kind of does. Pressure is exactly the kind of British prestige drama that followed The King's Speech: decent man, national crisis, hushed voices making enormous decisions in small rooms.

Scott gives James Stagg proper nervous energy, but the surprise here is Brendan Fraser. His Eisenhower has actual doubt in him instead of the usual bark-and-command routine, and it's the quieter, more human turn than you'd expect from the role. Kerry Condon is good too, though I kept catching flashes of her F1 performance: same brisk competence, different uniform.

The trouble is baked in. We know D-Day happens, so the tension is never really if, only when. The film has the polish and the performances, but never quite finds a reason to make you forget you already know the ending.

Decent, handsome, occasionally sharp. Not quite a storm — more a steady, slightly damp drizzle you can live with.

Interesting WW2 Drama - Pressure review by GI

A slick Second World War drama telling the story of an unsung genius (a bit like Alan Turing in The Imitation Game), in this case James Stagg, the chief meteorologist involved in the D Day preparations. Andrew Scott plays Stagg as a stoic, abrupt, socially awkward even rude man who ends up standing alone in his prediction that the weather will be hugely detrimental if the invasion of Europe goes ahead on the 5th June as planned. Brendan Fraser plays General Eisenhower in a smart performance that includes Ike's notorious temper. We also have Damien Lewis as a prickly 'Monty' who never misses an opportunity to remind Ike who has the more battle experience. The cast is rounded out by the always fantastic Kerry Condon as Ike's secretary who offers the drama some female intuition and sympathy to soften the male posturing. Adapted from a successful stage play, the origins being evident in the film's styling, there are several tensions set up as Stagg stands alone against a rival American meteorologist, against Monty, and deals with Eisenhower's doubts. Of course we all know the result in that eventually the decision to delay the invasion was taken. It's an interesting story, well told, and inevitably there's some looseness around the real facts. Scott works hard with the character and there's often subtleties in his portrayal as Stagg is also struggling with the absence from his pregnant wife. There's the inevitable D-Day beach scenes, very reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan (1998), although less bloody. For a film about forecasting the weather this is very well done, with a strong cast and definitely worth watching.