Operation Mincemeat * * * ½

The Mincemeat team (minus the corpse).

I wonder how many films there have been of a little know operation which "turned the tide" of WWII.

Operation Mincemeat is another one.  

In 1943 at the height of the WWII, the Allied forces wanted to make a push into Sicily. The Germans suspected this and consequently built up troops to fortify the area. British Intelligence devised a plan to fool the Germans into thinking that they will be making a huge assault into Greece instead, so the Germans would move their defense from Sicily to Greece. 

The gruesome title does not refer to the horror of war, but rather to one man - a corpse.  The plan was to dress up said corpse as an officer carrying secret documents concerning the Allied plan of invading Greece and let the Germans find him. 

The plan is championed by two officers who have been seconded to Intelligence.  One of the officers, Colin Firth, does his usual "Colin Firth" thing (which is to be nothing other than Colin Firth). The other is played by Matthew Mc Fadyen, so transformed I'd have never recognised him. Naturally there is a pretty girl (Kelly Mc Donald)  positioned between the two of them in order to increase tension. Her performance is actually very good.

The plan is extraordinary elaborate. They want the Germans to be thoroughly convinced of the veracity of the dead officer and the plans he is carrying.  Most of the film is set in London in smoky rooms with the click clack of typewriters as the team puts the highly complicated ruse together. Naturally there are those "higher up" who want to scuttle such a crazy plan, but the man at the very top (he with the cigar and the grumpy mannerism) thinks its worth a shot.

I won't tell you if it worked, but I will say the part I liked best was learning who planted the germ of the idea - a young officer working in the department called Ian Fleming!