Bernard Law Montgomery — universally known as “Monty” — remains one of the most recognizable and controversial British commanders of the Second World War. Admired by some, resented by others, Montgomery was a general who inspired fierce loyalty from his troops while often straining relationships with his fellow commanders.
In Pressure, Damian Lewis takes on the role of Montgomery during one of the most consequential moments of the war: the days leading up to D-Day. It is a fascinating piece of casting, not least because Damian is no stranger to WWII history — having portrayed Major Richard Winters in Band of Brothers, one of the most enduring depictions of the Normandy landings ever put on screen.
This time, however, he is no longer the officer executing orders on the ground. He is one of the men shaping them.
So who was Montgomery?
Born in 1887, Bernard Law Montgomery was a career soldier whose reputation was formed long before D-Day. By 1944, he commanded the 21st Army Group and played a central role in the planning and execution of Operation Overlord, code name for the Battle of Normandy.
During the initial phase of the Normandy invasion, Montgomery commanded Allied ground forces for Operation Overlord and served as the senior Allied land commander during the Normandy landings and the campaign that followed.
Montgomery was meticulous, cautious, and intensely confident in his own judgement. He believed firmly in preparation, overwhelming force, and clarity of purpose — which earned him the respect of British and Commonwealth troops who appreciated his refusal to gamble with their lives.
At the same time, Monty was a famously difficult man. He was emotionally reserved but blunt, dismissive of opposing views, and often clashed with his American counterparts. His ability to alienate allies was matched only by his certainty that he was right.
Winston Churchill once summed him up with brutal precision:
“In defeat, unbeatable; in victory, unbearable.”
Montgomery’s emotional reserve was probably shaped in part by personal loss. He married Elizabeth “Betty” Carver in 1927, and by all accounts the marriage softened him, offering a short period of domestic happiness. A decade later, in 1937, she died suddenly from blood poisoning following an infected insect bite. Montgomery was devastated. He never remarried, and those who knew him noted that he became more withdrawn and inward-looking after her death. The warmth he once displayed in private largely disappeared. A life of routine, discipline, and emotional containment defined him for the rest of his career.
Montgomery drew comfort from routine and from animals. During the Normandy campaign he kept two puppies at his mobile headquarters, which he named “Hitler” and “Rommel.” The choice was deliberate: Montgomery took satisfaction in the idea that the enemy’s most famous names answered to him. The dogs, along with a traveling cage of canaries, were part of the personal world he carried with him into war.
Montgomery also carefully created his public image. The black beret with the two badges became instantly recognizable, and he understood the importance of morale, symbolism, and visibility in wartime leadership. Unlike many senior commanders, Monty frequently visited troops in the field and spoke to them directly, helping build the fierce loyalty many British soldiers felt toward him.
And while Band of Brothers famously presents Montgomery through the eyes of American paratroopers during Operation Market Garden, his role in the success of D-Day itself was far more substantial.
Montgomery commanded all Allied land forces during the Normandy landings and played a central role in shaping the invasion plan. Importantly, he was one of the senior commanders who supported Eisenhower’s decision to proceed with the invasion despite appalling weather forecasts.
In the tense meetings at Southwick House, where Eisenhower wrestled with whether to delay Operation Overlord, Montgomery’s position was clear. He believed the invasion should go ahead. His confidence helped stiffen Eisenhower’s resolve at a moment when hesitation could have postponed the operation for weeks — with unpredictable consequences.
And it is this moment of leadership under pressure that Pressure dramatizes. Although Montgomery is not a character in the original stage play, his presence in the film adaptation feels historically and dramatically inevitable.
Pressure focuses on the decision-making process — on conflicting advice, clashing personalities, and the heavy weight of responsibility in the days before D-Day. In that setting, Montgomery becomes more than a background figure. He represents certainty, conviction, and the willingness to commit when others hesitate.
If Eisenhower is the man who must decide, and James Stagg the man who must warn, then Montgomery is the commander who says, simply and unequivocally: go.
Damian Lewis is no stranger to playing real-life figures. From Major Richard Winters in Band of Brothers, to King Henry VIII in Wolf Hall, to Nicholas Elliott in A Spy Among Friends, to Howard Davies in Dream Horse, he has consistently shown an ability to make both historical figures and everyday people feel real, human, and believable.
And he is an inspired choice to portray Montgomery precisely because he is not playing a conventional hero. He excels at portraying men in positions of authority whose confidence reassures those around them while concealing a tightly controlled inner life. Bobby Axelrod is a clear example of this kind of leadership: decisive, charismatic, and effective, yet driven by ego and an unshakable belief in his own judgement. King Henry VIII is another — powerful, commanding, and increasingly inflexible. Damian operates seamlessly on that fine line between leadership and arrogance, conviction and stubbornness, which makes him so well suited to play Montgomery.
Damian also has the physical stillness that feels perfect for Monty. Less is always more with Damian and he has that ability to dominate a room without raising his voice.
There is also something very meaningful about seeing Damian return to a Second World War story from the opposite end of the chain of command. In Band of Brothers, he portrayed Major Dick Winters who showed leadership through restraint, humility, and care for his men. As Montgomery, he steps into a role defined by certainty, authority, and an unshakable belief in being right.
And in the official trailers for Pressure, Damian Lewis’ Montgomery comes across as exactly that kind of man.
What stands out is not simply what Monty argues, but how differently he approaches the decision.
Montgomery pushes. He provokes. He forces the others in the room to confront something they would rather avoid: the cost of waiting.
Because for Monty, time is the enemy.
In the trailers, we see him point out that the Germans have strengthened their defenses in recent weeks, suggesting that every delay gives the enemy more time to prepare. Waiting, in his view, carries its own dangers.
At one point, he warns that if they delay, the enemy will “slaughter every single one” of them. It is a brutal line — but it reveals the way Montgomery thinks. Where James Stagg studies the weather, and Eisenhower wrestles with the consequences, Montgomery looks at the clock and sees what hesitation might cost.
Historically, Montgomery supported moving ahead once that narrow weather window appeared. The film seems to capture that sense of urgency: Monty is already mentally committed to the invasion.
“My men are ready for the big match. Get them onto the beaches somehow, anyhow, and leave the rest to me.”
And then comes perhaps the sharpest line in the trailer:
“Dr. Stagg, do you want to be personally responsible for losing the war?”
It is not simply confrontation for the sake of drama. It is pressure.
And Monty is the man turning up the heat.
Montgomery remains a divisive figure. He won battles. He made enemies. He protected his troops. He bruised egos. But in Pressure, his presence probably serves as a reminder that history is shaped not only by those who hesitate, but also by those who insist that action must be taken.
Pressure promises to examine one of the most extraordinary decisions in modern history through the lens of weather, doubt, and human judgement. In that story, Bernard Law Montgomery stands as a figure of resolve — for better or worse. And Damian Lewis bringing Monty to life offers an opportunity to revisit the man as a complex, influential leader at a pivotal moment in time.
Pressure will arrive at the movie theaters in the US on May 29, a week before the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, and in the UK on September 12. You can read my post in which I unpack the official trailers here.
