Rated: MA15+
Directed by: Gavin Hood
Script Written by: Gregory Bernstein, Sara Bernstein and Gavin Hood
Based on the Book Written by, Marcia Mitchell and Thomas Mitchell: ‘The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Katharine Gun and the Secret Plot to Sanction the Iraq Invasion’
Produced by: Ged Doherty, Sarada McDermott
Starring: Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, Rhys Ifans, Adam Bakri, Ralph Fiennes, Conleth Hill.
Described as the untold true story of Katharine Gun, this is a film of a GCHQ translator and spy who took a stand against a war that, in the end, was never backed by any hard evidence.
I remember that first Iraqi war in 1991 – the green lights of warfare on the news like a computer game. And I remember watching the Twin Towers burn and the silence while watching with work colleagues. Jets flew over the city on that first day of the second invasion (2003). In Australia the war was felt. And fought. And protested against.
Yet, I can’t recall hearing about the leaked documents of Gun.
So the story here is gripping.
Weapons of Mass Destruction.
That was the line.
We went to war because of imminent threat.
Without hard evidence of this imminent threat, the declaration of war was needed to be pushed through the UN.
The Americans desperate to push the vote through send an email to the British GCHQ requesting agents to dig into the UN delegates to find information to turn votes in favour of going to war.
Concern about the legalities of the request, Katharine Gun investigates:
Who sent this email?
Who is Frank Koza?
And because MI6 don’t like the idea of this war;
And when journalist from The Observer, Martin Bright (Matt Smith) is told there won’t be a D-1 sanction against leaking the email;
Suddenly, who is Frank Koza? Becomes a someone.
Instead of the propaganda feed to the media, here, the film shows the other side, the attempt to stop the machine.
From the viewpoint of Gun (Keira Knightley), this is more a drama than spy thriller. This is the story about a relatable woman with no political ambitions or motivations, just an impulse to do the right thing, ‘Just because you’re the Prime Minister doesn’t mean you get to make up your own facts.’
I’m not always a fan of Knightley, but the weight of the film rests heavily on her ability to hold a relatable view of the injustice of what Gun sees is an illegal war pushed through by any means; to show and understand the impulse to do the right thing, to be a whistle blower, without coming across as being over-zealous.
And she’s great in this role: To make a stand, then realise what’s she done, to standing by her stance, Gun risks everything: her relationship with Kurdish husband, Yasar (Matthew Goode) seeking asylum, her job and her freedom.
It’s a cloak and dagger with a wry British humour. There’s the underground carpark scene, but really this is an exchange of information while playing tennis. This is a story from the newsroom and from the viewpoint of a woman trying to live an everyday life.
Who would have thought spell-check took part in allowing a war?!
But in the end, Gun’s continued freedom after admitting the leak speaks to the lengths of coverup and denial about the significance of unfounded evidence of imminent threat.