“A Call to Spy,” which tracks the true-life story of how British spies navigated France during World War II, may be set 80 years ago, but its themes of racism, sexism and misogyny feel undeniably, infuriatingly urgent.
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Director Lydia Dean Pilcher keeps the action moving apace even when the familiar, often formulaic narrative threatens to fold. Period details, solid performances and Sarah Megan Thomas‘ script go a long way to buoy “A Call to Spy,” a WWII thriller in the style of “5 Fingers,” “Background to Danger” and “Decision Before Dawn.”
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The film follows several threads on its way to the mission. The first is led by Stana Katic as Vera, a Special Operations Executive for Winston Churchill. She finds herself caught between her loyalty to Churchill, who she hires new recruits for, and the realization that women in the workplace aren’t treated with the same respect as men are. Then there are new recruits Virginia (Thomas) and Noor (Radhika Apte) who, respectively, intend to “change the course of history.” The three women become allies, bonded by the knowledge that, as women, going into the field could do wonders to help the cause for women’s rights.
In addition, we follow the efforts of Colonel Buckster (Linus Roache) and his sidekick, Christopher (Samuel Roukin), as they prepare their soldiers to join the French Resistance. We also spend time with Virginia and Noor during this training, which amounts to a series of look, women can do jumping jacks too! montages. The pair are sent to Lyon, France, where Virginia is to run errands on her bike, and Noor is to gather military information and report back via wireless.
The film covers a wide breadth of information while hewing closely to its espionage roots. And it unfurls the events in Lyon as they really happened, filled with incredible moments of bravery and poise. It shares the heroics of each participant, from the bombing of Nazi trains to the messengers relaying information back to headquarters. But the sheer amount of information “A Call to Spy” tries to convey is at the expense of its narrative momentum.
The problem is that an ensemble dilutes the intimacy on which the story depends. This is most damaging when the action moves to Lyon and we jump from woman to woman like an episode of “The Bachelor“— Noor gets five minutes, then Vera gets five minutes, then Virginia. We first follow Virginia, a woman known to take risks. She lost a leg as a child, which stokes a chip on her shoulder. Virginia is ambitious, a badass, and she bombs Nazi supply stations.
But Virginia is the only character Thomas’ screenplay fleshes out. The rest are given short shrift, a handful of generic missions rather than authentic emotional battles. Editor Paul Tothill, production designer Kim Jennings and costume designer Vanessa Porter help pick up the slack. The haunting, evocative cinematography by Miles Goodall and Robby Baumgartner ensures that “Spy” keeps you engaged.
Pilcher presents the events as a turning point in history, one that feels both historic and relevant, created by the same cycle of bias that occurs today. In many ways, her film falls into the current wave of feminist spies on television (“Tehran,” “Homeland,” “The Americans“). In fact, one wishes this story was a limited series, giving us more time to spend with these courageous trailblazers — Noor was the first-ever female wireless, while Virginia was the first-ever female field agent. There were 39 other female agents, all of whom deserve their own episode. [C]