Nuremberg
- 26 minutes ago
- 3 min read
NUREMBERG is a fascinating, powerful dive into the Nazi war crime trials at the end of WW2. Driven by at four stunning lead performances, it holds up beautifully as a cinematic companion piece to it's 1961 predecessor, "Judgement at Nuremberg".
We're dropped into the last day of the war, with European citizens beginning their emotional trek home to whatever is left of their homes. Second in command of the Nazi army, Herrman Goring calmly surrenders to American forces on a countryside rode. Played by a puffed up Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind), the man seems like a quiet, narcissistic man who acknowledges fate without much comment. It's a command performance by Crowe, especially as you witness his most volatile moments and the layers of true horror about the man's wartime deeds are revealed.
Rami Malek (No Time to Die, Bohemian Rhapsody) plays American forces psychiatrist Douglas Kelley, who's chosen to interview Goring, delve into his psyche and perhaps gain knowledge from the man that might help them at trial.
Michael Shannon (Take Shelter, The Shape of Water) is fantastic as Justice Robert Jackson, who originates the idea of the world's first global trial on war crimes. It's an idea never before considered, but obvious in light of the Nazi atrocities and extermination of over six MILLION Jews in Europe. Shannon is compelling and fascinating as a man willing to go to the Pope to make the trial happen. His scene with Pope Pious XII (Giuseppe Cederna) is a highlight that turns the tide on the reality of a trial.
Leo Woodall (Tuner, Tony) is excellent as Sgt. Howie Triest, assigned to assist Kelley as his interpreter for Goring. I just recently saw Woodall in "Tuner" and was blown away. He does the same here, taking what was basically William Shatner's role in the 1961 film and expanding it with background depth that enlightens the characters around him. The fact that Woodall learned German for the film and speaks it like he's done so for years is incredibly impressive.
The film is epic in scope and cast, with many more superb actors adding to the narrative with great performances. Standouts include Richard E. Grant as Jackson's English legal counterpart. Grant's final scene against Goring on the stand is a thing of beauty. John Slattery is at his brisk best as Colonel Andrus, responsible for all the former Nazi high command under his watch. Lotte Verbeek is strong as Emmy Goring, Hermann's wife, although history shows that she was a much more staunch defender of her husband than she is portrayed here.
The first hour plus of the film revolves around Justice Jackson's global, political maneuvering to make the trial happen and the last hour details that trial, often depicting scenes with exact, word-for-word recreations of the actual testimony.
The film takes a different approach to the trial than "Judgement at Nuremberg" did. The 1961 film immersed itself equally in the German legal defense of their military, while this film focuses solely on the American legal team, Kelley's probing meetings and building relationship with Goring and Goring's testimony on the stand.
Between Shannon, Grant, Malek and Crowe, the courtroom scenes are a triumph. They are also incredibly hard to watch, showing much of the actual concentration camp liberation footage shot by the Allied troops. It's horrific, shocking and disturbing on a primal level that human beings could do this to other humans.
The actual trial was the first time that the world saw what happened inside what the Nazi's insisted were just "work camps". The cruel, massive death factories left the world horrified.
Shannon, Crowe and Grant deliver the courtroom scenes in takes as long as 25 minutes, delivering them almost like a live stage performance. It's impressive, stunning work by the trio.
The film also dives more deeply into these people post trial.
Kelley's post war life is especially tragic and strangely reflective of Goring's end days. If some of the facts weren't true, you'd say they were the nonsensical trivial points of bad fiction.
Writer/Director James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) has crafted an admirable, old fashioned historical epic that only wobbles slightly when he tries a bit too hard to inject modern politics into the messaging of the film. It's a very minor flaw in an otherwise impressive effort.
Powerful and important, NUREMBERG gets an A.
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