Official Secrets

Based on true events, Official Secrets follows a British intelligence analyst (Keira Knightley’s Katharine Gun) as she leaks a damning memo related to the Iraq War and is subsequently charged with treason. There’s little doubt, ultimately, that Official Secrets fares best in its compelling and often riveting first half, as Gavin Hood, armed with a script written alongside Gregory Bernstein and Sara Bernstein, does a terrific job of establishing the real-life scenario and infusing it with sporadic doses of palpable tension – with the compulsively watchable vibe perpetuated by Knightley’s stirring work as the movie’s central character. (And it doesn’t hurt, certainly, that Hood has packed the periphery cast with such notable scene-stealers as Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, and Ralph Fiennes.) It’s clear, then, that Official Secrets‘ overall impact is lessened by a comparatively underwhelming and uninvolving second half, as the picture’s focus shifts entirely to the aftermath of Katharine’s decision to blow the whistle – with the narrative’s decent yet by-the-numbers bent ensuring that the climax is hardly as potent as Hood has obviously intended. Still, Official Secrets is, generally speaking, an intriguing, eye-opening look into a true-life story that boasts a fantastic performance at its core.

*** out of ****