Movie Review: Valkyrie

Bryan Singer’s complex wartime thriller starring Tom Cruise as a German officer who conspires to assassinate Hitler, VALKYRIE is based on true events and compensates for its lack of vigor with loving attention to detail and fine performances from its ensemble cast.

Although it had some stiff competition at the US box office, Bryan Singer’s wartime thriller made just over $30 million in its opening Christmas weekend. At an estimated budget of $95 million - with an extra $70 million tossed in for marketing - it looks set to do well internationally when it screens overseas in January/February 2009; its basis in historical fact and Cruise’s box office appeal likely to offset the many negative reviews.

Set mainly in Nazi Germany of July, 1944, the plot centres on Colonel Klaus von Stauffenberg (Cruise), who, severely wounded in the Desert War and sickened by the atrocities committed by Hitler and his SS, returns to the Reich determined to rid the Fatherland of the madman at its helm. Joining a covert group of conspirators, including some senior military officers and political leaders, von Stauffenberg improves upon a plan to assassinate Hitler and take advantage of the resulting confusion to seize Berlin; By initiating Hitler’s very own emergency plan, code name: “Operation Valkyrie” - drafted to avoid governmental chaos in the event of the Fuehrer’s death or defeat - and then rapidly marshal the reserve troops and deploy them against the SS.

VALKYRIE is more about Machiavellian scheming than any major action, apart from an early air attack in the North African desert (where von Stauffenberg loses an eye, a hand and some fingers off the other) and although, like TITANIC, we are all aware of the outcome, this in no way lessens the suspense.

Singer could have infused more vitality and visual dynamics into the storyline, however, which at times seems forced and emotionally flat. His hero von Stauffenberg, well portrayed by Cruise, who is to carry out the bomb-in-a-suitcase assassination attempt on Hitler at the Wolf’s Lair, is suitably grim. There is much stiff-upper-lip dialog about pride, patriotism, honour and duty, and little sensitivity, although screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie (THE USUAL SUSPECTS) and Nathan Alexander have done well in condensing the complicated conspiracy plot which actually resulted in the arrest of about 700 individuals, more than 200 of whom were executed. This was the last of more than 14 known attempts to assassinate Hitler, or so we are told at the end of the movie.

The director (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, X-MEN franchise) pays painstaking care to historical detail and the downward spiral of desperation against the ticking of the clock. The group of conspirators surrounding von Stauffenberg, including Bill Nighy as the vacillating General Friedrich Olbricht, Terrence Stamp as political big shot Ludwig Beck and an especially convincing performance from Tom Wilkinson as General Friedrich Fromm, whose collaboration in the plot is never certain, as well as such gifted actors as Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard, and Thomas Kretschmann, gives great credence to the narrative. But more attention to the characters; their conflicts, insecurities and personal dramas might have resulted in more dramatic effect than Singer’s almost single-minded focus on the mechanics of the assassination plot itself, which is doomed to failure. Little use is made of the fine talents of actress Carice van Houten (BLACK BOOK), for example, who plays von Stauffenberg’s wife, apart from some ornamental trimming.

Some critics have disparaged the use of the various English and American accents, maintaining that they undermine the film’s credibility. I strongly disagree. Natural, regional English and US accents are certainly preferable to the false and almost laughable German accents of, say, HOGAN’S HEROES. And while making mention of an old TV series, other critics have hailed Bryan Singer’s production of VALKYRIE as the finest and most costly dramatised TV documentary ever made: lacking characters, significant motives, or any introspection.

Be all that as it may, the technical package is lavish. DP Newton Thomas Sigel captures the mood of despondency in many shades of grey, while John Ottman’s score perfectly underlines every image and nuance, as is to be expected when the composer is also the film’s editor.

VALKYRIE (USA/Germany 2008); Genre: Historical-drama; Running time: 110 minutes: Rating: PG-13; US distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Films; US Release date: December 25, 2008; International distributor: 20th Century Fox; Director: Bryan Singer; Writers: Christopher McQuarrie, Gilbert Adler; Main cast: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschman, Eddie Izard; Composer/Editor: John Ottman; Cinematographer: Newton Thomas Sigel; Production designers: Lilly Kilvert, Patrick Lumb, Tom Meyer, (Photos courtesy of MGM)