
The film is built on a fascinating true story: the incredibly tense and crucial weather forecasting for D-Day. While another movie, the TV film Ike: Countdown to D-Day, touched on this subject, this script, by David Haig and Anthony Maras, focuses on the core drama. It centers on two opposing forecasting teams. On one side, you have the relaxed and confident American team, led by Colonel Irving Krick (Chris Messina), who have studied decades of weather patterns and predict clear skies for the invasion. Messina is fantastic as Krick, a character who’s had wartime success but is mostly known for accurately predicting the weather for the Atlanta fire scene in Gone With the Wind – a surprisingly true detail! Then there’s the reserved and difficult Stagg, who insists on working alone and keeps Krick out of his reports to Eisenhower and the generals. We soon learn his gruff exterior hides nerves and the pain of leaving his pregnant wife to take on this vital, secret mission.