Official Secrets

Play trailer

2:12

Official Secrets

R

2019

1h 52m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

Biography

War

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

167 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

250+ Verified Ratings

One day in 2003, in the lead up to the Iraq War, British intelligence specialist Katharine Gun receives a memo from the NSA with a shocking directive: the United States is enlisting Britain's help in collecting compromising information on U.N. Security Council members to blackmail them into voting in favor of an invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the memo to the press.

Critics Consensus

Official Secrets has a familiar structure and an obvious if worthy message, but rises on the strength of Keira Knightley's powerful performance.

Read Critics Reviews

Andrea Gronvall

Chicago Reader

02/21/2020

Knightley shines... in a performance that balances conviction and soul baring, and is all the more genuine for its lack of showiness.

Go to Full Review

David Stratton

The Australian

11/22/2019

4/5

Official Secrets celebrates the courage of a government employee who attempted to prevent the invasion at considerable risk to herself and to those she loved.

Go to Full Review

Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

11/21/2019

4/5

The script, based on a book by Marcia and Thomas Mitchell, keeps layering in complexity, refusing to go dumb. And Knightley's performance gets steelier as she struggles to overcome her fears

Go to Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

06/03/2024

3/5

…Official Secrets may be raking over material that is cold potatoes now, but as a look at what the personal consequences might be for a whistle-blower, it’s prescient enough…

Go to Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

04/21/2024

3/4

Official Secrets fares best in its compelling and often riveting first half...

Go to Full Review

Kate Boyle

InSession Film

03/08/2023

A

It’s a phenomenal film, packed with amazing actors, giving equally amazing performances. It tells an important, true story in an easy to watch way.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

BURT J

10/07/2019

Much of the dialogue was done with murmuring that was hard to make out, both because it was murmuring after all and because it was delivered in rather colloquial Brit-speak, too fast to understand. We walked out.

See more

Jai

10/07/2019

Loved the Movie..... Seems like we are going through the same thing here in the US..... Britain had a Corrupt Prime Minister and the US has a Corrupt President.... Smh

See more

Kelly Q

10/04/2019

Everyone is the cast was wonderful, the secondary characters were just as fleshed out as the main characters and all the performances were subdued but meaningful. The pace was excellent. I went into the movie thinking okay, Ill probably enjoy it, but I left thinking, Wow, I really enjoyed that! I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a story driven movie. Im a little surprised that we had to happen on this movie because there has been little to no advertising for it. Go see it!

See more

Bruce V

10/02/2019

2 1/2, the half is for the nice nap I got in the theater.

See more

JL

10/01/2019

Very well done and great acting.

See more

Blaine E

09/30/2019

A "make you think" type of movie. Scary what can happen when the wrong people make the rules!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Gavin Hood

Director

Keira Knightley

Katharine Gun

Matt Smith

Martin Bright

Matthew Goode

Peter Beaumont

Rhys Ifans

Ed Vulliamy

Adam Bakri

Yasar Gun

Beirut

81%

57%

Beirut

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Beirut

Backstabbing for Beginners

41%

52%

Backstabbing for Beginners

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Backstabbing for Beginners

Viper Club

38%

42%

Viper Club

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Viper Club

Miss Sloane

76%

72%

Miss Sloane

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Miss Sloane

The Fifth Estate

35%

36%

The Fifth Estate

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Official Secrets: Trailer 1

2:12

Official Secrets: International Trailer 1

2:08

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

One day in 2003, in the lead up to the Iraq War, British intelligence specialist Katharine Gun receives a memo from the NSA with a shocking directive: the United States is enlisting Britain's help in collecting compromising information on U.N. Security Council members to blackmail them into voting in favor of an invasion of Iraq. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the memo to the press.

Director: Gavin Hood
Producer: Ged Doherty, Elizabeth Fowler, Melissa Shiyu Zuo, Melissa Zuo
Screenwriter: Sara Bernstein, Gregory Bernstein, Gavin Hood
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Clear Pictures Entertainment, Raindog Films, IFC Films, Entertainment One, The Solution Entertainment Group, The Mark Gordon Company
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama, Biography, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 30, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 30, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.0M
Runtime: 1h 52m