Review by Dennis D. McDonald

I enjoyed the film as I enjoy all Robert Harris' historical novels (e.g., V2, An Officer And A Spy, Pompeii, Dictator, Imperium, and Conspirata). The contrived nature of the plot about the two young diplomats trying to expose HItler’s plots while he was “negotiating” with England’s Neville Chamberlain in 1938 was clever.

I could not but feel anxious about the whole thing -- not because of the spy plot’s machinations but because we all know their efforts were doomed.

The film at the end does make the point that Chamberlain's "peace" did allow the British to rev up war preparations and that is a historical fact that is now acknowledged.

Jeremy Irons especially does deserve praise for his portrayal of Chamberlain. The period details of this film are really quite impressive.

For historical fiction on film you could do much much worse.

Review copyright (c) 2022 by Dennis D. McDonald