Andrew Scott (Fleabag) stars in Pressure, about a "weather forecast that changed history". ( Supplied: StudioCanal )
Australian director Anthony Maras ( Hotel Mumbai ) went to great lengths to ensure the authenticity of his bracing World War II drama, Pressure.
Maras co-wrote the screenplay, which was adapted from David Haig's play of the same name. It relays the true story of Captain James Stagg (Andrew Scott), a Scottish meteorologist attached to the Royal Air Force.
He was stationed at the Allies' HQ at Southwick House in Portsmouth, butting heads with General Dwight D Eisenhower (Brendan Fraser) and his preferred weatherman, Irving Krick (Chris Messina).
Stagg argued that the Allied forces' preferred window for the D-Day landings would be dashed by inclement weather, something the Scots know a lot about.
"I read [the play] when the biggest bushfires in Australian history were playing out," Maras recalls when we meet at the Playford Hotel following the film's Australian premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival.
"There was something about the power of nature and its ability to crush our plans that resonated," he adds.
Watch Pressure carefully and you'll notice a difference in film stock during scenes featuring the mobilisation of Operation Overlord. That's because Maras and his team spliced in colourised archival footage.
"Actual Hollywood cinematographers were drafted and enlisted," Maras says. "They were out there with cameras, not guns, filming this stuff, and we were able to use that footage to help tell the story 80-odd years later."
Anthony Maras calls Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, who plays General Dwight D Eisenhower, "the most humble guy in the world". ( Supplied: StudioCanal )
With more than 50 hours of footage to go through, the team had to rapidly expand.
"We hired a whole lot of researchers and editors," Maras says. "But we still didn't have enough manpower to do it in time, so people brought in their friends."
Those friends weren't briefed on the nature of the project. One towered over all the others.
"On the third day, this 6-foot-5 dude comes in and they ask his name, 'James,' and surname, 'Stagg,'" Maras recalls.
"They're like, 'What a coincidence! That's the name of our protagonist.' And he goes, 'Really? Is it a war film?' So they go, 'Yeah, it's about a meteorologist.'
"And he responds: 'Because that was my grandad.'"
The dramatic potential of Haig's play was clear, unlike the storm front descending on the English Channel in early June 1944.
"One little flick of the pen on a weather map correlates with a system that's hundreds of kilometres wide and will affect millions of lives," Maras says. "They were going to send these young kids off to war, and they knew very well what the stakes were."
This nailbiting decision is what set Pressure apart from similar films.
Chris Messina (Argo) plays a rival meteorologist who disagrees with Andrew Scott's James Stagg. ( Supplied: StudioCanal )
While Pressure is centred on Southwick House, Maras doesn't scrimp on big battle sequences.
"It's funny, because you would think that filming them would be harder," the director smiles. "In fact, they were some of the easiest scenes. It's capturing organised chaos."
The real challenge was landing the human drama.
"It's all about precision, and precision can take a long time," Maras says. "It has to hit that mark."
Scott may not be a Scot, but he worked hard to convince on that front.
"We had one of England's premier dialect coaches, but Andrew wasn't trying to imitate the real-life Stagg, of which there's very little recorded audio," Maras says.
Eisenhower wasn't yet the towering figure we recall from the history books.
"He is remembered as the great American war hero who led the Allies to victory and as a two-term president," Maras says.
"But it's important to remember that, in the lead-up to D-Day, he was none of those things."
He's also the man who ordered Exercise Tiger, a top-secret run-through of the D-Day plan, which was an unmitigated disaster. A breakdown in radio communications resulted in deaths by friendly fire, and an attack by German E-boats, with 749 soldiers lost.
"And so it was anything but certain that D-Day would be a success," Maras says. "Eisenhower's body was breaking down. He was smoking three or four packs of cigarettes a day and drinking 20 cups of coffee.
Maras trusted Fraser to bring that vulnerability. "They're both from the Midwest and have this folksy charm," he says.
"America loved and trusted Eisenhower, and audiences implicitly love and trust Brendan."
As is so often the case, there was a strong woman behind them. Pressure's cast is rounded out brilliantly by Kerry Condon as Kay Summersby.
A force to be reckoned with, the indomitable ambulance driver expertly navigated the rubble of London's blitz, becoming Eisenhower's chauffeur, then personal secretary.
"If you look at the historical photos of Eisenhower signing peace treaties, you've got Stalin, Churchill and she's there in the background," Maras says.
"Kay and Eisenhower formed a very strong connection. She was a real tour de force who could see through these men's egos, helping Eisenhower figure out who he could trust."
Oscar nominee Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin; centre) stars opposite Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser. ( Supplied: StudioCanal )
Maras was able to bring the film back to the people he trusted most, too, with post-production taking place in Adelaide.
"That was really important, because these are the people I've worked with for 20 years," Maras says. "There's a shorthand that you develop, working with old friends."
Telling stories like this brings us together, Maras insists. "It's how society finds out about itself."
