Valkyrie Review

Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 12.28.2008

Proof that failing to live up to the hype can be a very good thing indeed.

Directed by: Brian Singer
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie & Nathan Alexander

Starring:
Tom Cruise - Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Bill Nighy - General Friedrich Olbricht
Christian Berkel - Colonel Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim
Jamie Parker - Lieutenant Werner von Haeften
Terence Stamp - General Ludwig Beck
Tom Wilkinson - General Friedrich Fromm
Kenneth Branagh - Major General Henning von Tresckow
David Bamber - Adolf Hitler
Carice van Houten - Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg
Eddie Izzard - General Erich Fellgiebel
Thomas Kretschmann - Major Otto Ernst Remer
David Schofield - Erwin von Witzleben
Kevin McNally - Carl Goerdeler
Tom Hollander - Colonel Heinz Brandt
Kenneth Cranham - Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel
Harvey Friedman - Dr. Joseph Goebbels
Matthias Freihof - Heinrich Himmler
Gerhard Haase-Hindenberg - Hermann Göring
Anton Algrang - Albert Speer
Werner Daehn - Ernst John von Freyend



Running Time: 120 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language

Of all the many true stories about World War II, one of the most personally fascinating is the July 20, 1944 plot to kill Adolf Hitler. The plot was the last of fifteen attempts masterminded by Germans to assassinate their own leader, all of which, as any junior high school student could tell you, failed. Of all the plots, the July 20th plot was the one that got the closest to succeeding—and indeed, it very nearly did. Masterminded by members of the German Army and Military Intelligence Organization—including Generals Friedrich Olbricht and Ludwig Beck, Colonel Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim and Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg—the plot resulted in Hitler being wounded rather then killed by a mere set of circumstances. While the end result was disastrous for all involved, one has to wonder just what might have happened had a few twists of fate not intervened and Hitler died. The tale has been dramatized several times, including the 1990 television movie The Plot to Kill Hitler, several German films, and as a side story in 1967’s The Night of the Generals. Now, we have Valkyrie, from Tom Cruise’s United Artists studio. Featuring the reteaming of writer Christopher McQuarrie and Bryan Singer—the duo behind The Usual Suspects—and starring Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp and Tom Wilkinson, the film has suffered some bad press and negative buzz before it finally opened wide on Christmas day.

The film stars Cruise as von Stauffenberg, a Colonel in the German Army. Stauffenberg is a man who has become torn between his loyalty to Germany and his deeply critical beliefs about Hitler (Bamber) and the Nazi regime, a position complicated even worse when he is seriously wounded in North Africa. While recovering in Berlin minus an eye, his right hand and two of his left fingers he is brought into the German Resistance. The group of Army officers, including Olbricht (Nighy), Beck (Stamp), Henning von Tresckow (Branagh) and Carl Goerdeler (McNally) has been attempting to assassinate Hitler for some time, but have failed due to one mishap or another. They need new leadership, and thus they recruit Stauffenberg. The Colonel comes up with a plan to use Hitler’s own contingency plan, Operation Valkyrie, against his government. The gist is this—they kill Hitler with a bomb placed during a meeting in Hitler’s bunker, then use the contingency plan to mobilize the Reserve Army to arrest the SS and take over Berlin. They recognize the danger of the mission and know that, due to the Nazi practice of Sippenhaft or collective punishment, it is not only their lives at sake but those of their families as well. Still, they press ahead, with Stauffenberg using his appointment as Chief of Staff of the Reserve Army to get close enough to plant the bomb. Once they are committed, they know there is no going back, no matter the consequences.

During its production and pre-release, Valkyrie has been constantly plagued by bad press. From the German government initially refusing filming rights due to Cruise’s Scientology connections (they later changed their mind) to criticism over the lack of German accents and the “dour” trailer, to mishaps during filming, most of the buzz that has come out has been negative. This buzz is, by and large, unearned by the movie, which proves to be a very capable historical thriller. Any tension that could come from the movie would seem to be sabotaged by the fact that, as we all know, Adolf Hitler was not assassinated by his own people. However, this is very much not the case, as McQuarrie and co-writer Nathan Alexander have created a sharp script that creates a well-paced and engaging story. The characters as they’re written are all three-dimensional, neither canonized nor (for the most part) demonized. McQuarrie and Alexander focus on the assassination plot itself rather than spend time showing us the evils of the Nazi regime; this saves us from the preachy melodrama that the film could have well fallen into. Instead, we get a blow-by-blow account of the noble motives of the men involved, their fears of being caught and the successes and mistakes they make as a result of those motives and fears. There are some few times where the script seems a bit shallow, particularly in the fleshing out of these men’s lives. We see von Stauffenberg’s family, but not the families of any of the other men. Their reasons are also left simply as “Hitler is evil and needs to be stopped,” and any additional personal motives are left aside. These are minor issues with the script however, and where it works—particularly in the rising tension as the plot unfolds—it very easily excels.

Bryan Singer has dealt with Nazi subject matter before, having directed the 1998 adaptation of the Stephen King story Apt Pupil. Since then, he’s made his name in the comic book genre, with two X-Men films and Superman Returns, a film that has left audiences deeply divided in opinion. Here, Singer seems to be taking a more artistic approach then his commercial juggernaut franchises. Working with cinematographer and long-time collaborator Newton Thomas Sigel, Singer creates a slower and more methodical approach as he builds the film, using more muted colors and sweeping camera work. Once the plan kicks into high gear, he amps up the color and goes to a more handheld approach to draw the audience into the tension. It is a decision that works quite well and is blended pretty seamlessly together, drawing the viewer in and never letting go from that point on. Another Singer collaborator, composer John Ottman, creates a musical backdrop that is appropriate to the tense atmosphere without ever distracting from the film.

Of course, much of the hype focused around Tom Cruise, and after viewing his performance it is unfair to say that he does anything to sink this movie. Cruise was cast in part due to his physical resemblance to von Stauffenberg, and he does an adequate, if not stellar, job in portraying the young Colonel to boot. He doesn’t overact, and though at times he does make Claus too straight of an arrow, he knows how to propel the movie forward without having to go into hysterics. Perhaps the most negative thing that can be said about Cruise is that he’s the least talented actor in this ensemble cast; not a condemnation, considering the amazing work we get out of the rest. Of particular note is Bill Nighy, who delivers another incredible performance as Olbricht. Olbricht makes several mistakes throughout the course of the plot, ones that could be said to have turned a potential success into failure. However Nighy portrays them as the mistakes of a man, one who is deeply worried about what could happen should everything fail, and not the actions of an idiot. He makes Olbricht sympathetic where others might make him seem too bumbling. Tom Wilkinson likewise makes Friedrich Frohm, the self-serving superior to von Stauffenberg in the German Reserves, far more sympathetic then he probably should be. Kenneth Branagh has a brief but good role as von Tresckow, who is an early conspirator who is called away to the front before he can get too involved; Terence Stamp and Christian Berkel do great work also as Beck and von Quirnheim. The loyal Reich members are portrayed quite ably, with extra appreciation to David Bamber in taking on the role of Hitler with skill and Tom Hollander, best known as Cutler Beckett from the Pirates of the Caribbean films, as Colonel Heinz Brandt of the Reich, who suspects something is amiss.

Ultimately, we all know how the film will end, at least in a general way. It's not exactly a shocking spoiler to say that Hitler lives. But the route that we take to get there, and the sacrifices that these conspirators make in order to try and change their nation for the better are an absolute treat to watch, and remind us that sometimes the cliche is true...it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. These man played the game brilliantly, and it's nice to see them given a fitting tribute in cinema.

The 411: There were, without question, a lot of hurdles that Valkyrie had to overcome to be considered a success. Will it earn any major awards in the coming months? Unlikely, due to the bad publicity it has received. It is certainly not a contender for Best Picture at any rate. However, if one can look past those kinds of expectations, they’ll find an intelligent, gripping thriller that is impossible to ignore from start to finish. While it's not one of the top five films of the year, it certainly falls within the top ten. That is more than most expected at this point, and is enough to make it a highly recommended film.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]