Official Secrets Parent Guide

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King

Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) has no idea that her future will differ from her ordinary present. She is happily married and works at GCHQ, Britain’s signals intelligence agency, where she is responsible for translating Mandarin intercepts. Until, that is, she sits down at her computer one morning in 2003 and opens an email that will change her life and throw her country into turmoil.

The email Katharine opens is from the NSA (the National Security Agency of the USA), requesting that the UK’s intelligence agencies gather dirt on diplomats representing six countries on the United Nations Security Council in order to pressure them into supporting an American invasion of Iraq. Katharine is horrified that the British government would be willing to cooperate with the NSA request for illegal surveillance, and even more appalled at the prospect that the British government would lie to its own citizens in the rush to war. Haunted by what she’s read, Katharine brings a copy of the email home and agonizes over what she should do before she finally sends it to a contact who forwards it to journalist Martin Bright (Matt Smith). After authenticating the document, The Observer puts the story on the front page, and it goes global.

With publication of the story, Katharine’s quiet life is over. She has broken the Official Secrets Act and betrayed the oath she took when she began work for GCHQ. The moral convictions that led her to leak the document also render her incapable of watching her colleagues work under the shadow of suspicion and investigation, so she confesses and faces the force of the British legal system.

Since this is a true story, there is no real question about how things turn out. Nonetheless, the film manages to maintain tension throughout its nearly two hour runtime. It’s well paced, well acted, and never feels dull, even though the movie is almost completely devoid of action. It’s that most unusual of films – a thought-provoking, conversation-heavy movie for audiences who want to consider important issues and big questions. And Official Secrets comes with plenty of big questions. What determines if a leaker is a traitor or a patriot? When does someone have a moral obligation to break the law? To what extent should members of intelligence services be gagged? Should exposing government wrongdoing be a valid defense for breaches of secrecy? Was the war in Iraq legal or could those who initiated it be charged with war crimes? Was a UN resolution necessary for the US and the UK to go to war? Moviegoers, be they adults or teens, who enjoy a rousing discussion after a show will be satisfied with this production.

The biggest objection parents will have to Official Secrets is the three dozen profanities in the movie. And it is unfortunate that these swear words were included because this film is exactly the kind of movie parents would otherwise want their teens to see. In a world where movie heroes triumph because they can leap tall buildings in a single bound or travel through a multiverse, it’s refreshing to see a protagonist whose heroism comes from integrity, moral courage, and an unswerving devotion to honesty. Hopefully this film’s Restricted rating won’t keep those values secret.