A Call to Spy...A Review

"A Call to Spy" now streaming on Amazon Prime is a World War II film based on incredible real life stories. Directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher and starring Sarah Megan Thomas, Radhika Apte, Stana Katic, Linus Roache, Rossif Sutherland in the main roles, the heroine centric film is about the dangerous but courageous lives of spies who helped resistance efforts in Hitler occupied France in the early and mid 1940s. Set in Hitler's Nazi reign, the true life stories come starkingly real on the screen . 

Noor Inayat Khan, played by Indian actress Radhika Apte has portrayed her character remarkably well. Noor, born to an India-born Sufi mystic and a British mother. Is selected for her wireless skills and is posted in one of the toughest jobs during the war.

Thomas, who wrote the film and produced it  stars brilliantly as the limping Virginia Hall secretly overseeing the recruitment of spies whilst changing her appearance often even as her "wanted " pics are splashed on walls and distributed publicly in Nazi dominated France. 

A freak accident having left her with a leg amputated below the knee, Hall makes her way into the F Section of the British Special Operations and operates out of 13, Baker Street, before heading to France. She silently nurses the ambition to be a US diplomat one day but her disability means America won’t let her become one.

The spy women exude calm and dignified courage, especially required of women who must mollify male egos while making their way through dangerous territory. In their challenging roles they quietly earn the trust and friendship needed to build a network right under the noses of a ruthless Gestapo army. However, it is one such trusted associate acting as a double agent who betrays Virginia's team, leading to compromising Noor's codes and the capture and killing of many agents. 

Notwithstanding her disability, braving all odds and inclement weather, Virginia however manages to escape from France and resumes her mission after getting trained in the wireless.

Katic plays Vera Atkins, a Romanian Jew spearheading the British Special Operations. A brilliant actor, Katic’s Atkins is a character, constantly battling her own fears, of being Jewish born, of not being accepted and trusted by some of her associates.

Pilcher does well to bring out the emotions, frustrations and fear in the minds of the French citizens who are a silenced lot, suffering under the strict Nazi regime. A doctor who is Virginia’s initial contact is  one fearless agent who keeps the resistance burning until his end.

Backed by spectacular performances, strong writing, the film’s narrative comes alive describing the tone and tenor of the 1940s France and the UK. There is attention to detail in every frame. The conversation between characters is non-dramatic but powerful.

" A Call to Spy " heartwarmingly acknowledges the heroic efforts of the agents, and there is a note about each at the end of the movie. The heroes including Noor were later decorated by the French and British governments and today this movie deserves a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐