That being said, "A Call to Spy" is a case where the story really is the only thing that matters. The script has a lot going on, and it leaps back and forth across the Channel, but it's also taut. The film plays like a bat out of hell, pushed on by its own propulsion and interest. It does not get distracted by extraneous details. Backstories are filled in quickly. Thomas resists any desire to add something like a romance into the mix. Thomas wants people to know the amazing things these women did during the darkest years of the war. She spent years researching the story, interviewing relatives of the women involved, and crafting a screenplay out of their true stories. This project clearly would not exist without Thomas. (It's worth it to seek out "Equity," a really good corporate drama from 2016, also initiated by Thomas. She makes things happen.)