It stays honest and true to the reality with some clichés but also an important story that needs to be told, at all costs. Ralph Fiennes as Gun’s defence lawyer Ben Emmerson and Matt Smith as journalist Martin Bright provide good support.įor a film that focuses on a relatively lesser known episode of a massive political development in our recent history, Official Secrets manages to squeeze in all the crucial aspects around it. Palestinian actor Adam Bakri who plays Gun’s Muslim husband Yasar is equally terrific. Even with widespread uncertainty and stress in her personal life, she never comes across as weak. She efficiently portrays Gun’s vulnerability and fear as she makes gut wrenching decisions of going against her own government. Official Secrets is a 2019 British drama film directed by Gavin Hood, based on the case of whistleblower Katharine Gun who exposed an illegal spying operation by American and British intelligence services to gauge sentiment of and potentially blackmail United Nations diplomats tasked to vote on a resolution regarding the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Keira Knightley delivers a restrained and believable act as Katharine Gun. It does so without sounding preachy or prejudiced. The film’s screenplay clearly explains the facts around the invasion of Iraq and the voices in favour and those in dissent, quite effectively.

Despite being subtle and understated, the narrative is packed with enough thrill for those looking for an engaging political drama. In this case, covertly justifying the war on Iraq in 2003 by two of the world’s biggest super powers (the US and the UK) on suspicion that the country is holding weapons of mass destruction. Director Gavin Hood and his two co-writers (Gregory and Sara Bernstein) successfully recreate our world where governments often hide important facts from its people to push the agendas they believe in. REVIEW: In one of the most impactful scenes, Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) sternly tells a British police officer accusing her of being a spy, “I do not collect information so that the government can lie to the British people.” This and many such scenes are the hallmarks of this film that is so relevant to the times that we live in. Her courageous act of leaking the memo to the press not only put her in breach of the Official Secrets Act but also her personal life in jeopardy. STORY: Based on actual events, Official Secrets is a biographical take on the story of Katharine Gun, who blew the whistle on a top secret memo involving the US-Iraq war of 2003.

Official secrets movie