Pressure follows the historical events leading up to D-Day and the need to accurately forecast the weather before the invasion of France to avoid disaster during the landings. I was somewhat aware of these events because Eisenhower is quoted as saying that the Allies had an edge because they had better meteorologists than the Nazis, who weren't expecting an invasion on June 6, 1944, because of the bad weather.
The movie follows Scottish meteorologist Captain James Stagg, who has been tasked with making the weather forecast for D-Day. The movie does exactly what I thought it would do by creating conflicts between the characters for dramatic purposes that aren't historically accurate. This is especially true of the exaggerated conflict between Eisenhower and Stagg, as well as the conflict between Stagg and an American meteorologist who disagrees with his forecast.
We also see conflict between Eisenhower and British General Montgomery, which is mostly historically accurate. Montgomery was known for his arrogance, which caused conflict between him and Eisenhower.
Brendan Fraser does a decent job portraying Eisenhower, but Eisenhower is presented as more troubled and indecisive than I suspect he really was.
Rating: B
Pressure has an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie is available on streaming.
I personally think Tom Selleck's performance in "Ike: Countdown to D-Day" was definitive.
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