Movie Review: Valkyrie
So completely bored and filled from lunch, my friend and I decided that we wanted to go see a movie. Ah yes, indulge in the glorious-ness of vacation at Christmas and go see one those Hollywood Oscar-bait films. After deliberation we both agreed on seeing Brian Singer’s latest theatrical development, Valkyrie.
So before I tell you whether or not the movie is worth seeing I wanted to mention that I had heard much being said about this movie and that people had problems with the German characters speaking in American and British accents. This problem was completely non-existent with me for two reasons. One, there was a cleverly designed technique used in the opening of the film. The technique had Tom Cruise’s character, Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, speaking in German as he is writing a letter. The pronunciation was well done by Cruise but the brilliance lies in the audio, where the German language dissolves and fades into English and the regular accent of the well known Cruise is heard fading in. I am sure there is a technical term to classify this technique used by the filmmaker but I am unaware of it so I will just equate it as a strategically placed Babel fish for the audience. I like the idea that Singer believed the look of the characters were more important (see picture below) than having them speak English with German accents and risk sounding bad or hire German actors to speak German all the time. I like the idea that the characters be imagined to be speaking German the whole time but we hear everything translated.
The real-life Stauffenberg's profile compared to that of Tom Cruise
The second reason I thought the accents were a non-existent problem for me was that I thought it allowed the audience to concentrate and capture other things about the story, the characters and the actions happening on camera, it wasn’t something that could become distracting.
Now that I have defended this artistic decision by Singer, I think it is time to tell you what I thought of the film. Ultimately, this is a project that when looking at it from a development angle seems like such an ambitious endeavor for Singer and the studios, that you begin to think, how could this film not do well? Brian Singer doesn’t have to prove his merits as a technically or visually capable director and Valkyrie doesn’t disappoint in those areas at all. Valkyrie’s problems laid in its attempt to make itself feel epic in the sense of, we have a great director, an intense story and a group of A-list British and American actors, so see this movie!. That goes back to my point that as a film from a development angle how could it miss? Especially with these tangibles. Well unfortunately it just didn’t have the powerful or epic feel you’d expect from such things so that may be why he didn’t feel like an awesome movie this didn’t make it bad just average.
This previous point leads to my observation that the film itself is solid, the technical and visual pieces of the film are outstanding, the story moves at a good pace and doesn’t bore and Tom Cruise is tolerable. However, there in lies, what I consider, the fault of the film. Today’s movie going audience is probably tired of WWII films, war films in general and Tom Cruise. Though Cruise seems to be warming himself back into the good graces of most people again, giving him the starring role may have been the biggest reason why this movie wasn’t great, people just can’t see him playing a German, a leader, a powerful actor in a grpping story. They may perceive it as a way to get people to like him again or take him seriously. In my mind the ensemble cast with their British accents seem to fit better within the story than the American accent and staleness of Tom Cruise that’s not to say he ruined the movie or had a profound affect on me liking it I just wanted to point that out. Cruise’s PR perception may be why this movie didn’t do better with other critics or with the opening weekend public.
Based on a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie (X-Men & The Usual Suspects) and Nathan Alexander the story follows German Col. Stauffenberg has he is recruited by a clandestine organization within the Nazi party designed to assassinate Adolf Hitler and re-take Germany and bring it back to as a more respected country with its people and the rest of the world. The plot revolves around Stauffenberg’s plan to re-write Operation Valkyrie, an executive order that would activate the reserve Army. This activation would allow for the plotters to use the reserve army after the death (assassination) of Hitler to take control of divisions and arrest the SS men in turn allowing for government control to swing to the plotters giving them an opportunity to surrender to the Allied forces and rebuild the country without bloodshed.
Perhaps the most gripping point seen throughout the whole movie was the understanding that these plotters were committing the most unbelievable level of treason that the world had only seen when Jefferson, Franklin and Adams began plotting independence from the British crown. I truly felt the terror and fear that many people who were surrounded by Hitler felt. The fear that anything they might say or do could have them shot. In that vein the movie succeeds as a thriller more than a historical piece like Schindler’s List or The Longest Day. It was a truly gripping film that brings about the fear of Hitler, the demands of military when it opposes moral principle and the what some people will sacrifice in order to do what is right. The film works as a thriller more so than a character study of Stauffenberg, which is what some thought this film would be.
Ultimately, due its good ensemble cast, the tolerable Tom Cruise and beautiful cinematography of Singer I give this movie,
3 out of 4 fuses.
The Good - Ensemble Cast, spooky musical score, gripping tense moments and great cinematography.
The Bad - The marketing and the fact this movie couldn’t bring an epic feel to the audience which is what seemed to be intended by the studio.
The Ugly - Tom Cruise with an eye-patch (Somebody yell in a pirate accent!)
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Produced by: Christopher McQuarrie, Bryan Singer, Gilbert Adler, Chris Lee
Written by: Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander
Starring: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Christian Berkel, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Carice van Houten
Music by: John Ottman
Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and United Artists
Release date(s): December 25, 2008 (US) January 22, 2009 (GER)
Running time: 120 min.
