John Madden, the Oscar-winning director of ‘Shakespeare in Love’, directs a drama based on real events starring Colin Firth with dedication
It is not the first time, nor will it be the last, in which a film portrays an operation “that changed the course of World War II”. Based on the best-selling book by Ben MacIntyre, openly inspired by a true story, ‘The weapon of deception’ has a powerful and successful cast through which a military disinformation maneuver is staged that allowed the allies to stand up to Hitler. In their desire to storm the island of Sicily, two highly accomplished intelligence officers devised a seemingly insane strategy to hit the table and prevent a massacre during the invasion. His greatest asset was to wield the figure of a secret agent, based on the adventures of a man… dead.
This espionage drama is directed by John Madden, who won an Oscar in his day for his work behind the camera in ‘Shakespeare in Love’. ‘The Sloane Affair’, the previous film in his filmography with respect to the release at hand, received excellent reviews, confirming the good state of the creative side of a solvent director who does not always take risks but usually ends up winning. His latest work is inferior to the political film starring Jessica Chastain, but he keeps the pulse knowingly managing an artistic team led by Colin Firth, winner of the Oscar for ‘The King’s Speech’; who is accompanied by Emmy winner Kelly Macdonald, seen in the great series ‘Line of Duty’; Matthew Macfadyen (‘Succession’), Penelope Wilton (‘The Exotic Marigold Hotel’), Johnny Flynn (‘Emma’), Jason Isaacs (‘Harry Potter’, Hattie Morahan (‘State Secrets’), Simon Russell Beale (‘ Mary, Queen of Scots’), Paul Ritter (‘The Capture’), James Fleet (‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’) and Mark Gatiss (‘The Favourite’).
‘The weapon of deception’ takes place in 1943, when the allies tried to regain control of Europe occupied by the Nazis. The development of the mission to safeguard the skin of the troops, its elaborate ingenuity, is the most interesting part of the footage, in which the secondary plots limp and the action does not always fit the intrigue. The rhythm is the best of the set, with a nose for entertainment. This is a war thriller that can remind us of other titles along the same lines, to the point of seeming like a mosaic of ideas from here and there, elevated by Firth’s acting work, always effective in staging, well accompanied by a casting with the necessary charisma to trick the right viewer. A premiere whose viewing has its one in times of war.
An image from ‘The Weapon of Deception’.
#weapon #deception #war #thriller #rhythm