Official Secrets (film)
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''Official Secrets'' is a 2019 British
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
based on the case of
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
Katharine Gun Katharine Teresa Gun (''née'' Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to ''The Observer'', concerning a request by ...
, who leaked a memo exposing an illegal spying operation by American and British intelligence services to gauge sentiment of and potentially blackmail United Nations diplomats tasked to vote on a resolution regarding the
2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
. The film is directed by
Gavin Hood Gavin Hood (born 12 May 1963) is a South African filmmaker, and actor, best known for writing and directing ''Tsotsi'' (2005), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also directed the films ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', ' ...
, and Gun is portrayed by
Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...
. The film also stars
Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...
,
Matthew Goode Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with American Broadcasting Company, ABC's TV film feature ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister#Adaptation, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister''. His ...
,
Adam Bakri Adam Bakri ( ar, آدم بكري; born May 15, 1988) is an Israeli-born Palestinian actor. He made his feature film debut by starring in Oscar-nominated film ''Omar'', directed by Hany Abu-Assad. He currently lives in New York. Early life Ad ...
,
Indira Varma Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She has gone on to appear in the television series ''The Canterbury Tales'', ''Rome'', ''L ...
and
Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
. The film had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
on 28 January 2019 and was released in the United States on 30 August 2019, by
IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its S ...
, and in the United Kingdom on 18 October 2019, by
Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
.


Plot

In early 2003,
GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Unit ...
analyst
Katharine Gun Katharine Teresa Gun (''née'' Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to ''The Observer'', concerning a request by ...
obtains a memo detailing a joint United States and British operation to spy on diplomats from several non–permanent
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
member states
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
in order to "dig dirt" on them and influence the Security Council into passing a resolution supporting an
invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...
of
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. Angered that the United Kingdom is being led into a war on false pretences, Katharine leaks the memo to a friend involved in the
anti-war movement An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to ...
, who passes it to anti-war activist
Yvonne Ridley Yvonne Ridley (born 23 April 1958) is a British journalist, author and politician who holds several committee positions with the Alba Party in Scotland. She was a former chair of the National Council of the now-defunct Respect Party. Ridley ma ...
, who in turn passes it to ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' journalist
Martin Bright Martin Derek Bright (born 5 June 1966) is a British journalist. He worked for the BBC World Service and ''The Guardian'' before becoming ''The Observer's'' education correspondent and then home affairs editor. From 2005 to 2009, he was the polit ...
. ''The Observer'' foreign editor Peter Beaumont allows Martin to investigate the story in the interest of journalism. To verify the authenticity of the leaked memo, Martin enlists the help of the Observer's Washington, DC correspondent
Ed Vulliamy Edward Sebastian Vulliamy (born 1 August 1954) is a British journalist and writer. Early life and education Vulliamy was born and raised in Notting Hill, London. His mother was the children's author and illustrator Shirley Hughes, his father ...
in contacting the memo's author Frank Koza, the Chief of Staff at the "regional targets" section of the
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
. Despite the ''Observer'' pro-war stance, Peter convinces the newspaper’s editor
Roger Alton Roger Alton (born 20 December 1947 in Oxford) is an English journalist. He was formerly editor of ''The Independent'' and ''The Observer'', and executive editor of ''The Times''. Early life and education He was educated at Clifton College and ...
that the leaked memo is worth publishing. The publication of the leaked memo in March 2003 generates considerable public and media interest. The
Drudge Report The Drudge Report (stylized as DRUDGE REPORT) is a U.S.-based news aggregation website founded by Matt Drudge, and run with the help of Charles Hurt and Daniel Halper. The site was generally regarded as a conservative publication, though its o ...
attempts to discredit the document as a fake after a young staffer named Nicole Mowbray inadvertently changed the text from American to British English using spell check. However, Martin is able to produce the original memo, confirming its authenticity. Katharine's actions prompt GCHQ to launch an internal investigation. Seeking to prevent an invasion of Iraq and to protect her fellow GCHQ colleagues from prolonged suspicion, Katharine confesses to leaking the memo. She is arrested and detained for a night before being released on remand. Following the outbreak of the Iraq War, Katharine seeks the services of the
Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
lawyers
Ben Emmerson Michael Benedict Emmerson CBE KC (born 30 August 1963) is a British barrister, specialising in public international law, human rights and humanitarian law, and international criminal law. From 2011 to 2017, he was the UN Special Rapporteur o ...
and
Shami Chakrabarti Sharmishta "Shami" Chakrabarti, Baroness Chakrabarti, (born 16 June 1969) is a British politician, barrister, and human rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, she served as the director of Liberty, a major advocacy group which promotes ...
. The British Government decides to charge her with violating the
Official Secrets Act An Official Secrets Act (OSA) is legislation that provides for the protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national security but in unrevised form (based on the UK Official Secrets Act 1911) can include all infor ...
, tasking
Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...
Ken Macdonald Kenneth Donald John Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of River Glaven, (born 4 January 1953) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of England and Wales from 2003 to 2008. In that office he was head of ...
with leading the prosecution. To exert pressure on her, the British authorities attempt to deport her husband Yasar Gun, a Turkish Kurd. However, Katharine is able to halt the deportation by presenting a marriage certificate proving the authenticity of her relationship. Ben comes up with the defence strategy that Katharine was acting out of loyalty to her country by seeking to prevent the UK from being led into an unlawful war in Iraq. With the help of Martin, Ed, and former
Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...
deputy legal adviser
Elizabeth Wilmshurst Elizabeth Susan Wilmshurst (born 28 August 1948), Distinguished Fellow of the International Law Programme at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs), and Professor of International Law at University College London, is best k ...
, Ben discovers that the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
Peter Goldsmith Peter Henry Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith (born 5 January 1950) is a British barrister and a former Attorney General for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland. On 22 June 2007, Goldsmith announced his resignation which took effect on 27 J ...
changed his position on the legality of the Iraq War after meeting with several lawyers from the Bush Administration. Despite the odds stacked against them, Katharine refuses to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced charge. On the day of the trial, the Crown prosecutor drops all charges against Katharine. Ben suggests to the court that this is because prosecuting her would have shown that the Blair government led the UK into war on false pretences. The film then mentions the human toll of the Iraq War and that Lord Goldsmith's advice on the illegality of the Iraq War was made public in 2010. The film ends with footage of Katharine addressing the media following the dismissal of her case and Ben shunning Ken for putting Katharine through the ordeal "to make an example of her".


Cast

*
Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...
as
Katharine Gun Katharine Teresa Gun (''née'' Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to ''The Observer'', concerning a request by ...
*
Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...
as
Martin Bright Martin Derek Bright (born 5 June 1966) is a British journalist. He worked for the BBC World Service and ''The Guardian'' before becoming ''The Observer's'' education correspondent and then home affairs editor. From 2005 to 2009, he was the polit ...
*
Matthew Goode Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with American Broadcasting Company, ABC's TV film feature ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister#Adaptation, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister''. His ...
as Peter Beaumont *
Rhys Ifans Rhys Ifans (; born Rhys Owain Evans; 22 July 1967) is a Welsh actor and musician. He was the frontman of Welsh rock music bands the Peth and Super Furry Animals. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in ''Notting Hill'' (1999), ''Kevin & ...
as
Ed Vulliamy Edward Sebastian Vulliamy (born 1 August 1954) is a British journalist and writer. Early life and education Vulliamy was born and raised in Notting Hill, London. His mother was the children's author and illustrator Shirley Hughes, his father ...
*
Adam Bakri Adam Bakri ( ar, آدم بكري; born May 15, 1988) is an Israeli-born Palestinian actor. He made his feature film debut by starring in Oscar-nominated film ''Omar'', directed by Hany Abu-Assad. He currently lives in New York. Early life Ad ...
as Yasar Gun *
Indira Varma Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She has gone on to appear in the television series ''The Canterbury Tales'', ''Rome'', ''L ...
as
Shami Chakrabarti Sharmishta "Shami" Chakrabarti, Baroness Chakrabarti, (born 16 June 1969) is a British politician, barrister, and human rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, she served as the director of Liberty, a major advocacy group which promotes ...
*
Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
as
Ben Emmerson Michael Benedict Emmerson CBE KC (born 30 August 1963) is a British barrister, specialising in public international law, human rights and humanitarian law, and international criminal law. From 2011 to 2017, he was the UN Special Rapporteur o ...
*
Conleth Hill Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has performed on stage in productions in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the United States. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards and received two Ton ...
as
Roger Alton Roger Alton (born 20 December 1947 in Oxford) is an English journalist. He was formerly editor of ''The Independent'' and ''The Observer'', and executive editor of ''The Times''. Early life and education He was educated at Clifton College and ...
*
Tamsin Greig Tamsin Margaret Mary Greig (; born 12 July 1966) is an English actress, narrator and comedian. She played Fran Katzenjammer in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Black Books'', Dr Caroline Todd in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Green Wing'', Beverly Lincoln in Br ...
as
Elizabeth Wilmshurst Elizabeth Susan Wilmshurst (born 28 August 1948), Distinguished Fellow of the International Law Programme at Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs), and Professor of International Law at University College London, is best k ...
*
Hattie Morahan Harriet Jane Morahan (born 7 October 1978) is an English actress. Her roles include Sister Clara in ''The Golden Compass'' (2007), Gale Benson in ''The Bank Job'' (2008), Alice in ''The Bletchley Circle'' (2012–2014), Ann in ''Mr. Holmes'' ( ...
as
Yvonne Ridley Yvonne Ridley (born 23 April 1958) is a British journalist, author and politician who holds several committee positions with the Alba Party in Scotland. She was a former chair of the National Council of the now-defunct Respect Party. Ridley ma ...
*
Ray Panthaki Ray Panthaki (; born 20 January 1979) is a British actor, producer, screenwriter and director. Early life Panthaki was born in London to second-generation Indian parents. His parents belong to India's Parsi minority community. Career Panthaki i ...
as Kamal Ahmed * Angus Wright as
Mark Ellison Mark Ellison King's Counsel, KC is a British barrister and member of QEB Hollis Whiteman (chambers), QEB Holllis Whiteman chambers. Career Having gained his LLB at the University of Wales, he was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1979. Specia ...
*
Chris Larkin Chris Larkin (born Christopher Stephens, 19 June 1967) is an English actor. Early life Born Christopher Larkin Stephens on 19 June 1967 in London, Larkin is the elder son of actors Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Robert Stephens. His younger brot ...
as
Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham Nigel David Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham (30 March 1948 – 7 November 2022) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1992 to 2005, and as a member of the House of Lords from 2005 until his de ...
*
Monica Dolan Monica Margaret Dolan (born 15 March 1969) is an English actress. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Rosemary West in ''Appropriate Adult'' (2011). Career Dolan was born in Middlesbrough and trained at the Guildh ...
as Fiona Bygate *
Jack Farthing Jack Farthing (born 14 October 1985) is a British actor. Early life Born and raised in North London, Farthing attended two independent schools; the Hall School, Hampstead and Westminster School in central London. He read History of Art at St C ...
as Andy Dumfries *
Clive Francis Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor. Early life Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner. His father played Detective Chief ...
as Admiral Nick Wilkinson * Katherine Kelly as Jacqueline / MI6 Agent * John Heffernan as James Welch *
Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor. Early life Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-born ...
as Judge Hyam *
Darrell D'Silva Darrell Fitzgerald D'Silva (born 5 January 1964) is a British film and theatre actor, notable for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Early life and education D'Silva was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. He is of Italian, Portugue ...
as Chilean Ambassador *
Janie Dee Janie Dee (born 20 June 1962) is an English actress and singer. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award fo ...
as Jan Clements *
MyAnna Buring MyAnna Buring (; born 22 September 1979 as Anna Margaretha My Rantapää) is a Swedish actress, known for her roles in ''The Descent'', ''Kill List'', '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', ''Ripper Street'', ''The Witc ...
as Jasmine *Niccy Lin as Mi-Yung *
Chris Reilly Christopher Francis Reilly (born in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish actor. Career Chris Reilly began acting in 2009 age 31, and studied at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama with a Screen Academy Wales Bursary. Most Recent Work: *"Wrath of ...
as Jerry *
Shaun Dooley Shaun Dooley (born 29 March 1974) is an English actor, narrator and voice-over artist. Early life Dooley was born in Barnsley in Yorkshire. He studied at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester between 1992 and 1995. Career Dooley's fir ...
as John * Peter Guinness as TinTin *Hanako Footman as Nicole Mowbray *
Jeremy Northam Jeremy Philip Northam (born 1 December 1961) is an English actor and singer. After a number of television roles, he earned attention as Mr. Knightley in the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen's '' Emma''. He has appeared in the films ''An Ideal ...
as
Ken Macdonald Kenneth Donald John Macdonald, Baron Macdonald of River Glaven, (born 4 January 1953) is a British lawyer and politician who served as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of England and Wales from 2003 to 2008. In that office he was head of ...


Production

Sara and Gregory Bernstein had written a script already in 2008. Eventually it found itself on The Black List, a list of "most liked" screenplays that have not yet been produced, where director Debs Paterson saw it. Still, nothing came of it until January 2016, when a filming start in May was announced, with
Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
,
Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...
,
Paul Bettany Paul Bettany (born 27 May 1971) is an English actor. He is mostly known for his roles as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, recently starring in the Disney+ miniseries ''WandaVision'' (2021), for which he was nominated fo ...
,
Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982)Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most no ...
cast.
Tahar Rahim Tahar Rahim (born 4 July 1981) is a Franco-Algerian actor. He is known for his starring role as Malik El Djebena in the 2009 award-winning French movie ''A Prophet'' by Jacques Audiard, FBI Agent Ali Soufan in ''The Looming Tower'', Judas in the ...
and
Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film ''The House of Mirth'' ...
were cast during the 2016
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
. However by June 2017, filming had yet to begin, and cast member Anderson stated she had not heard anything about the project since being cast. By January 2018, the project was redeveloped once more, with
Gavin Hood Gavin Hood (born 12 May 1963) is a South African filmmaker, and actor, best known for writing and directing ''Tsotsi'' (2005), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also directed the films ''X-Men Origins: Wolverine'', ' ...
now set to direct in place of
Justin Chadwick Justin Chadwick (born 6 December 1968) is an English actor and television and film director. He directed episodes of ''EastEnders'', ''Byker Grove'', ''The Bill'', '' Spooks'' and '' Red Cap'' before directing nine of the fifteen episodes of t ...
, and
Keira Knightley Keira Christina Righton (; née Knightley, born 26 March 1985) is an English actress. Known for her work in both independent films and blockbusters, particularly period dramas, she has received several accolades, including nominations for ...
and
Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the Eleventh Doctor, eleventh incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the BBC series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targarye ...
cast in February, replacing the previous cast. In March,
Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
and
Matthew Goode Matthew William Goode (born 3 April 1978) is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with American Broadcasting Company, ABC's TV film feature ''Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister#Adaptation, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister''. His ...
joined the cast, with filming beginning on 12 March 2018 in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
. Filming took place in the village of
Boston Spa Boston Spa is a Village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Situated south of Wetherby, Boston Spa is on the south bank of the River Wharfe which separates it from Thorp Arch. According to th ...
on 14 March.
Indira Varma Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She has gone on to appear in the television series ''The Canterbury Tales'', ''Rome'', ''L ...
,
Conleth Hill Conleth Seamus Eoin Croiston Hill (born 24 November 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has performed on stage in productions in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the United States. He has won two Laurence Olivier Awards and received two Ton ...
and
Tamsin Greig Tamsin Margaret Mary Greig (; born 12 July 1966) is an English actress, narrator and comedian. She played Fran Katzenjammer in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Black Books'', Dr Caroline Todd in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Green Wing'', Beverly Lincoln in Br ...
joined the cast the next day. Filming had moved to
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
by 19 March, serving as a stand-in for
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Filming was undertaken in April 2018 in Liverpool's St George's Hall. The beach scenes for the character played by Ralph Fiennes is at
Thurstaston Thurstaston is a village on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. It is part of the West Kirby and Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. The village lies on the A540 roa ...
beach on the
Dee Estuary The Dee Estuary ( cy, Aber Dyfrdwy) is a large estuary by means of which the River Dee flows into Liverpool Bay. The estuary starts near Shotton after a five-mile (8 km) 'canalised' section and the river soon swells to be several miles ...
of
Wirral peninsula Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the River Mersey to t ...
and prominently shows the cottage known locally as Sally's Cottage.


Release

The film had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
on 28 January 2019. Shortly after,
IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its S ...
acquired US distribution rights to the film. It was released in the United States on 30 August 2019. It was previously scheduled to be released on 23 August 2019. and in the United Kingdom on 18 October 2019.


Reception

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "''Official Secrets'' has a familiar structure and an obvious if worthy message, but rises on the strength of Keira Knightley's powerful performance." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film holds 63 out of a 100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In an article about the film and
Katharine Gun Katharine Teresa Gun (''née'' Harwood) (born 1974) is a British linguist who worked as a translator for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). In 2003, she leaked top-secret information to ''The Observer'', concerning a request by ...
,
Sam Husseini Sam Husseini (born 1966) is a Jordanian-Palestinian writer and political activist. He is the communications director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a D.C.-based nonprofit group that promotes progressive experts as alternative sources for m ...
wrote that "having followed this story from the start, I find this film to be, by Hollywood standards, a remarkably accurate account of what has happened to date—'to date' because the wider story still isn’t really over".


Accolades


References


External links

* * {{Gavin Hood 2019 thriller drama films Films shot in Greater Manchester 2010s spy films 2010s political films British thriller drama films British spy films British political films Films about whistleblowing Films directed by Gavin Hood Films set in 2003 Films set in 2004 Films set in London Films set in Gloucestershire Films shot in Lancashire Films shot in Yorkshire Entertainment One films IFC Films films Scanbox Entertainment films British docudrama films 2019 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films