In 1940, with the war starting to look like it might be won by the Axis Powers, Churchill formed the Special Operations Executive. This group of spies was trained for operations such as sabotage, the building of safe-houses and supply lines, and the development of the Resistance in France.
Sensing a need for female spies, who will be less conspicuous than men, SOE administrator Vera Atkins is tasked with recruiting women. Two of her new recruits are Virginia Hall, an American with a wooden leg, and Noor Inayat Khan, a British-Indian Muslim pacifist.
A Call to Spy is a project clearly dear to Sarah Megan Thomas‘s heart: she has written the screenplay, produced, and stars as Hall. She has brought Lydia Dean Pilcher on board as director: an experienced producer, this is her third directorial gig.
Joining Thomas in major roles are Stana Katic as Atkins, and Radhika Apte as Khan. Both put in a solid day’s work on this film. Katic in particular, totally inhabits the role of Atkins. The rest of the cast-SOE officers, French supporters, Gestapo-all contribute fine performances, aside from a couple of dodgy French accents.
Thomas’s screenplay is tight, pacey, and a respectful tribute to these outstanding women. It is also an honest account of many of the fatal mistakes made by the SOE, which had to learn “on the job”. And there is enough inter-personal emotion to lift this away from being merely a dry dramatization.
After the war ended, the SOE was absorbed into MI6. Atkins, Hall and Khan have all been officially recognized. Overall, around 40 female agents were trained by the SOE.
A Call to Spy is a fascinating glimpse into the beginnings of modern espionage. It is a tribute to ordinary women doing extraordinary things, both helped and hampered by, their very femaleness. And it is a tense and exciting piece of cinema, which is already garnering acclaim, both critical and popular.
A Call to Spy opens today.
An extraordinary tale 4 stars
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