Spoilers for Pressure are ahead! You can see the project on the 2026 movie schedule in theaters now.
The whole goal of the critically acclaimed war film Pressure is to show the decision-making that went into whether D-Day could happen on its scheduled day or not. In the end, Andrew Scott’s meteorologist James Stagg and Brendan Fraser’s General Dwight D. Eisenhower decide to call it off for a day because of the weather; however, they realize it is able to happen one day later. Ultimately, it’s a successful mission, and we see that “victory” in the film. However, when I spoke to Kerry Condon about the movie, she told me why there’s a bit more complexity to that ending.
This all came up because I asked Condon, who plays Kay Summersby, an important member of Eisenhower’s staff, which scene she felt the most pressure to film. She told me it was the moment in Pressure’s conclusion where the team is told that D-Day was a success. Explaining why this was a nuanced moment to capture, the Oscar-nominee told me:
I believe the scene at the end, when they're listening to hear about them landing on the beach, because I felt a little bit – it was important to me that while it was a victory, it wasn't necessarily a victory, because at that same moment, there were so many soldiers dying. And so I didn't want to play Kay being elated and thrilled. I wanted to play the truth of it, that this is still a war, you know? And there's a sadness attached to that, whether you win or lose.
I feel like all great war movies depict the idea that nothing is just a win or a loss. No matter what happens, loss and tragedy are involved. So, even though D-Day was successful and it went as planned, it came with consequences.
It’s been confirmed that 4,414 Allied troops were killed during D-Day, according to History.com. It’s estimated that between 4,000 and 9,000 Germans were killed, wounded or missing. While this invasion was undoubtedly a success for the Allies, it also came with insurmountable and guaranteed loss. So, yes, even though it was a win, as Kerry Condon said, “it wasn’t necessarily a victory.”
So, as she played out that moment where Kay, Eisenhower, Stagg and the group working on this plan learned that D-Day had gone the way they wanted, she wasn’t cheering with joy. Yes, it was successful, but it is war, and war is tragic, no matter what way you look at it.
If you see Pressure on the big screen, it’s clear that the people deciding when D-Day can happen feel that pressure and understand the stakes they’re dealing with. It leads to blow-ups from Ike, Stagg and more as they try to decide if the weather will delay this invasion. And in the end, when they achieve the goal they were working toward, it’s not a victory that can be met with joy and happiness.
Yes, it helped them in the efforts to defeat the Nazis. However, it’s still war, and as Kerry Condon said, “there’s a sadness attached to that, whether you win or lose.”
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