Arts and Entertainment
By Rohan Jhaveri, Newswire Intern
As I sat down in the cavernously empty AMC movie theater to watch “Nuremberg,” a couple of thoughts bounced around in my head. The film was seemingly a negative review just waiting for me. I had basically already written it in my mind before even watching the obligatory trailers.
The Nuremberg Trials were a fascinating period following the end of WWII. The concept was to put Nazi leaders on trial in a new international court to declare these individuals publicly guilty of the first ever crimes against humanity. The trials were in the devastated German city of Nuremberg, hence the name of the film.
With this cursory prior knowledge of the Nuremberg Trials, my bias was clear. How in the world would anyone be able to make a real movie out of this? What could possibly be the angle, the tension?
Considering the idea that the victors write history, I had just assumed that the trial was basically staged to show the awful atrocities of these evil people, doing it publicly to hammer home the point.
The setting is a complete red herring and that is why you need to see it. All my assumptions about this movie were eviscerated over the course of two hours and 30 minutes.
The movie begins with the surrender of Hitler’s second in command Hermann Göring, played by Russell Crowe, which sets the tone for some excellent cinematography throughout the film.
The audience is next introduced to a cunning American military psychiatrist, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, played by Rami Malek. He is placed in charge of the mental health of 22 Nazi high command prisoners, Göring being one, and ensures the prisoners do not commit suicide before trial.
Dr. Kelley is initially in it for the glory of writing a book on the psychologies of the Nazis, but as he begins to meet with each Nazi, he seeks out what drove them to commit genocide.
As the film continues, it is clear that only one character is truly of interest to Dr. Kelley, and that is the leader of the bunch, Göring. Russell Crowe’s acting really brings out the best of this film. Göring’s intoxicating personality leaps at you during these interactions.
“Nuremberg” subverts expectations wonderfully here and introduces both Dr. Kelley and Göring as master manipulators in their own ways. Each attempt to influence the other while each, in turn, succeeds and fails. The dynamic between these two characters makes the movie special.
As for the trials itself, the movie is unapologetically graphic. At around the one hour and 30 minute mark, the trial launches into a 10 minute scene of the Nazi atrocities. The movie excels at portraying, while adding depth to, the Nazi insanity through the trial. While it leans into a portrayal of the Nazi’s as humans — complicated, emotional and yet still twisted — the horrors they committed never lingers far away.
“Nuremberg” centers around the trials that took place in Nuremberg, Germany after WWII.
Despite my original fears, tension is concretely introduced in this film. At times there are sections entirely devoid of much action. However, they are surrounded by moments filled with movement. I do not believe the relatively long runtime on this movie is justified, but the overarching tension was enough to keep me hooked from start to finish. The court case, oddly enough, is anything but a guaranteed victory for the allies, as Göring and friends seemingly have a legitimate chance to win.
While I will not be spoiling anything by telling you the Nazis did not win, this was still an intriguing plot line. That was part of the beauty, though; the trial was just a plot line among many. Questions on morality, justice, individualism and human nature are all brought to view. Despite appearances, it makes you think.
“Nuremberg” ends on a thought-provoking quote from philosopher R.G Collingwood: “the only clue to what man can do is what man has done.” This sums up my experience of the movie as it begs you to ask yourself that scary question, “what would you be doing in Nazi Germany?”
The film offers so much more than what is shown on the surface and that, in my opinion, is the character of any good movie. Despite its A-list actors, the topic is relatively niche and I strongly believe it would appeal to audiences of any kind.
