Two-time Oscar nominee Keira Knightley has been on a roll lately in the thriller genre, from the Hulu crime drama “The Boston Strangler” to the Netflix spy series “Black Doves” to her latest project for that streamer, the psychological mystery “The Woman in Cabin 10” opposite Guy Pearce and Hannah Waddingham.
The latter film, based on the Ruth Ware novel of the same name, debuts on the streaming service on Friday, Oct. 10, but its pulpy trailer brought to mind another one of the British actress’s gripping performances: the 2019 British drama “Official Secrets,” based on the case of whistleblower Katharine Gun, who exposed an illegal spying operation by American and British intelligence.
Giving a “focused, plausible and sympathetic performance” as Gun, per The Guardian, Knightley is supported by a star-studded ensemble that includes “House of the Dragon” star Matt Smith, “Dept. Q” lead Matthew Goode, “Game of Thrones” alum Indira Varma and the legendary Ralph Fiennes, among others.
And if you need more convincing to tune into this underrated, slow-burning spy drama, here’s why you should add “Official Secrets” to your next Netflix watch.
What is ‘Official Secrets’ about?
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“Official Secrets” tells the true story of British Intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun (played by Keira Knightley), a GCHQ analyst who receives an email not-so-subtly urging her to find out incriminating personal details from select UN representatives, in the guise of blackmailing them into supporting the war in Iraq. Horrified, she leaks the top-secret NSA memo, exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation.
Once the memo hits the pages of The Observer, Gun is in hot water, with the British government breathing down her neck and threatening deportation for her Turkish asylum-seeker husband Yasar (Adam Bakri) in retaliation. With the help of veteran human rights lawyer Ben Emmerson (Ralph Fiennes), several journalists (played by Matt Smith, Matthew Goode and Rhys Ifans) and more, Gun boldly sticks to her, well, guns and stands up to political power.
Why you should watch ‘Official Secrets’ on Netflix
Though critics found the thriller to have “a familiar structure and an obvious if worthy message,” they did single out Keira Knightley’s performance as particularly powerful, per the critical consensus over on Rotten Tomatoes, where “Official Secrets” has a solid 82% approval rating. “It’s Knightley’s Gun you’ll remember and admire,” praises Ian Freer of Empire Magazine, calling the actress’s work here “steely, stirring but still recognisably human.”
Others applauded the authenticity of the Gavin Hood-directed drama: For FAIR, political writer and activist Sam Husseini 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.”
Watch “Official Secrets” on Netflix now
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