Operation Mincemeat

"Deception. The greatest weapon in war."

2022 2h 8m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 846

WarHistoryDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1943, two British intelligence officers concoct Operation Mincemeat, wherein their plan to drop a corpse with false papers off the coast of Spain would fool Nazi spies into believing the Allied forces were planning to attack by way of Greece rather than Sicily.

“Deception. The greatest weapon in war.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Colin Firth
Ewen Montagu
Matthew Macfadyen
Charles Cholmondeley
Kelly Macdonald
Jean Leslie
Penelope Wilton
Hester Leggett
Johnny Flynn
Ian Fleming
Jason Isaacs
Admiral John Godfrey
Mark Gatiss
Ivor Montazac
Hattie Morahan
Iris Montazac

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Madden
Writers: Michelle Ashford
Languages: German, English, Spanish
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Spain, Australia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Spain, Australia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Madden, shot by Sebastian Blenkov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Victoria Boydell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Macdonald carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Deception. The greatest weapon in war.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Madden directs. Sebastian Blenkov behind the camera. Thomas Newman scores. Victoria Boydell cuts. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America, Spain, Australia. Dialogue in German, English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 4 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Spanish.
3International production across 4 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Spain, Australia.
4Directed by John Madden, shot by Sebastian Blenkov. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Victoria Boydell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen and Kelly Macdonald carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Deception. The greatest weapon in war.".
9IMDB entry: tt1879016 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Sebastian Blenkov
Original score: Thomas Newman
Editing: Victoria Boydell
Production design: John Paul Kelly
Costume design: Andrea Flesch
Sound: Tim Cavagin
Runtime: 128 min · 2h 8m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Operation Mincemeat (2022)

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John Madden

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-04-16
★ 7/10
Why, oh why, did they have to clutter this up with a romance? As a wartime adventure film, it's got all the ingredients for a cracker. As WWII starts to turn into a more offensive affair, the allies are looking for any means to divert the Nazis from their true intentions. To that end, "Montague" (Colin Firth) and "Colmondeley" (Matthew Macfadyen) concoct a cunning plan to plant fake documents on a corpse, wash it ashore in Spain and then let corruption and a nefarious network of spies do their worst! It's a remake of the exciting "Man Who Never Was" (1956) and to be fair, is quite a good one. Director John Madden manages to immerse us in the intricate, sometimes quite amusing, planning of this wacky scheme. Simon Russell Beale is entertainingly convincing as the stoic, borderline desperate, Churchill as is Jason Isaacs as the sceptical "Admiral Godfrey". Dame Penelope Wilton reminded me a bit of "Miss Baring" from ("I Was Monty's Double") from 1957 and the story gather pace nicely. Sadly, though, once their plan is activated the second, more dangerous, part of the plot is seriously rushed and undercooked. The enemy's attempts to verify what we think they have read is nowhere near developed well enough, and that's why the romance - between Firth and their clever and resourceful assistant "Jean" (Kelly MacDonald) drags it down. Sure, it's offers an humanity element depicting the impact of war on people. His (part Jewish) family have relocated to the USA for their safety and she is a war widow; but that storyline leads to intra-character conflict that shows up Macfadyen as not a particularly good actor. Still, I found the two hours flew by. The production looks great with only a sparing use of CGI, a fine score from Thomas Newman and it's underpinned by a good story. Could have been better, but still pretty good.
r96sk2022-05-03
★ 7/10
It's nothing that I overly enjoyed, though <em>'Operation Mincemeat'</em> is a good flick. A suitably entertaining (true, if likely 'reimagined' and all that) tale is told within roughly 128 minutes, I do think that run time could've been shorter but I wouldn't go as far as to say it drags or anything - I just felt a few moments at the end where it could've been wrapped up quicker, that's all. Most things in this film are what you'd pretty much expect from a British production of this sort, including the cast which is full of many recognisable faces from across UK television and film. Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen are a pleasant pairing in the lead roles, while Kelly Macdonald leads the rest of the solid onscreen talent nicely. I also note the appearances of Johnny Flynn and Simon Russell Beale, who were both also in 2022's <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/the-outfit-2022/" rel="nofollow">The Outfit</a>'</em> - a quality film, fwiw. I could've, personally, done without the love squabble throughout, I didn't feel like it was adding anything and it wasn't exactly unpredictable. I get why it's there, given what occurs in the plot, but I wouldn't have longed for it had it not been included. Most definitely worth a watch, all in all.