| Official Secrets | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gavin Hood |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War by Marcia & Thomas Mitchell |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Florian Hoffmeister |
| Edited by | Megan Gill |
| Music by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Box office | $10.1 million[1][2] |
Official Secrets is a 2019 Britishdrama film directed byGavin Hood, based on the case ofwhistleblowerKatharine Gun, who exposed an illegal spying operation by American and British intelligence services to gauge sentiment of and potentially blackmailUnited Nations diplomats tasked to vote on a resolution regarding the2003 invasion of Iraq.[3][4]Keira Knightley stars as Gun, alongsideMatt Smith,Matthew Goode,Adam Bakri,Indira Varma andRalph Fiennes.
The film had its world premiere at theSundance Film Festival on 28 January 2019 and was released in the United States on 30 August 2019, byIFC Films, and in the United Kingdom on 18 October 2019, byEntertainment One.
In early 2003,GCHQ analystKatharine Gun obtains a memo detailing a joint United States and British operation to spy on diplomats from several non–permanentUnited Nations Security Council member states (Cameroon,Chile,Bulgaria andGuinea), to "dig dirt" on them. This was to influence the Security Council into passing a resolution supporting aninvasion ofIraq.
Angered that theUK is being led into a war on false pretences, Katharine leaks the memo to a friend involved in theanti-war movement, who passes it to anti-war activistYvonne Ridley. She gets it toThe Observer journalistMartin Bright.
The Observer foreign editorPeter Beaumont allows Martin to investigate the story. To verify the memo's authenticity, Martin enlists the help of theObserver's Washington correspondentEd Vulliamy to contact the memo's author Frank Koza, Chief of Staff at the "regional targets" section of theNSA. Despite theObserver's pro-war stance, Peter convinces the chief editorRoger Alton that the leaked memo is worth publishing.
The leaked memo's publication in March 2003 generates public and media interest. TheDrudge Report attempts to discredit the document as a fake, as staffer Nicole Mowbray had inadvertently changed the text from American to British English with a spellchecker. However, Martin is able to produce the original memo, confirming its authenticity.
Katharine's actions prompt GCHQ to launch an internal investigation. Seeking to prevent an invasion of Iraq and to protect her colleagues from suspicion, Katharine confesses to leaking the memo. She is arrested and detained, before being releasedon bail.
Following the outbreak of the Iraq War, Katharine seeks the services of theLiberty lawyersBen Emmerson andShami Chakrabarti. The British Government decides to charge her with violating theOfficial Secrets Act, taskingDirector of Public ProsecutionsKen Macdonald with the prosecution.
To exert pressure, the British authorities attempt to deport her husband Yasar Gun, aTurkish Kurd. However, Katharine is able to halt the deportation by presenting their marriage certificate, proving the relationship's authenticity.
The defence strategy is that Katharine was acting out of loyalty to her country by seeking to prevent the UK from being led into an unlawful war. With the help of Martin, Ed, and formerForeign Office deputy legal adviserElizabeth Wilmshurst, Ben discovers that theAttorney GeneralPeter Goldsmith changed his position on the legality of the war after meeting several lawyers from theBush Administration. Despite the odds against them, Katharine refuses to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced charge.
At the trial, the Crown prosecutor drops all charges against Katharine. Ben suggests to the court that this is because prosecuting her would have shown that theBlair government led the UK into war on false pretences.
The film then mentions the human toll of the Iraq War and that Lord Goldsmith's advice on the illegality of the Iraq War was made public in 2010. It ends with footage of Katharine addressing the media following the dismissal of her case, and Ben shunning Ken for putting Katharine through the ordeal "to make an example of her".
Sara and Gregory Bernstein had already written a script by 2008. Eventually it found itself onThe Black List, a list of "most liked" screenplays that have not yet been produced, where director Debs Paterson saw it.[6] Still, nothing came of it until January 2016, when a filming start in May was announced, withHarrison Ford,Anthony Hopkins,Paul Bettany,Natalie Dormer andMartin Freeman cast.[7]Tahar Rahim andGillian Anderson were cast during the 2016Berlin International Film Festival.[8][9] However by June 2017, filming had yet to begin, and cast member Anderson stated she had not heard anything about the project since being cast.[10]
By January 2018, the project was redeveloped once more, withGavin Hood now set to direct in place ofJustin Chadwick, andKeira Knightley andMatt Smith cast in February, replacing the previous cast. In March,Ralph Fiennes andMatthew Goode joined the cast, with filming beginning on 12 March 2018 inYorkshire.[11][12][13][14] Filming took place in the village ofBoston Spa on 14 March.[15]Indira Varma,Conleth Hill andTamsin Greig joined the cast the next day.[16] Filming had moved toManchester by 19 March, serving as a stand-in forLondon.[17] Filming was undertaken in April 2018 in Liverpool'sSt George's Hall.[18]The beach scenes for the character played by Ralph Fiennes is atThurstaston beach on theDee Estuary ofWirral peninsula and prominently shows the cottage known locally as Sally's Cottage.
The film had its world premiere at theSundance Film Festival on 28 January 2019.[19] Shortly after,IFC Films acquired US distribution rights to the film for "just under $2 million".[20] It was released in the United States on 30 August 2019.[21] It was previously scheduled to be released on 23 August 2019.[22] and in the United Kingdom on 18 October 2019.[23]
Onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 166 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Official Secrets has a familiar structure and an obvious if worthy message, but rises on the strength of Keira Knightley's powerful performance."[24] OnMetacritic, the film holds 63 out of a 100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[25]
In an article about the film andKatharine Gun,Sam Husseini wrote that "having followed this story from the start, I find this film to be, by Hollywood standards, a remarkably accurate account of what has happened to date—'to date' because the wider story still isn't really over".[26]
| Award | Year | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturn Awards | 26 October 2021 | Best International Film | Official Secrets | Nominated | [27] |