John Madden, is one of the great British working directors, and author of the wonderful Shakespeare in Love, among others. His Operation Mincemeat, available on Netflix is a sensational classic film. Especially for history and espionage fans. Even more, it brings together the two best actors who played Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen. It couldn’t go wrong and it doesn’t.

The incredible story, full of twists and lies, is true. In 1943, British intelligence dared an unlikely operation, Operation Mincemeat, in which they needed to deceive the Nazis about the Allied attack on Sicily. At a time when even Germany was in trouble (Operation Valkyrie was being planned and executed in parallel), no one could trust anyone. It’s breathtaking even knowing the result in advance.

There are many curiosities in the film and John Madden knows how to play with them all. For example, author Ian Flemming closely followed all the action and we see how he was building the universe of James Bond, his alter ego that was born precisely from this espionage universe. In addition, the subtlety of confused emotions, the pain of loss, and the encounters and separations reinforced by a world at war are well distributed in an impeccable film of performances, period reenactment, and script.

Colin Firth and Matthew Macfadyen are two great actors, who can be comic, dramatic, or romantic with equal ease. It was not for nothing that both made us the best hero in the universe of Jane Austen, as they continue to outdo themselves in their current works, Colin in The Staircase and Matthew in Succession. Their artistic duel is a delight. Supported by the wonderful Kelly Macdonald and Penelope Wilton, the group is unbeatable.

I’ll talk more about the movie later, here I avoid spoilers. But here’s the recommendation to see it and review it. An excellent chance in times of such rare quality offers.