‘Nuremberg’ Review

Audiences love historical dramas almost as much as they love courtroom thrillers, so it makes sense that the Nuremberg trials would serve as the inspiration for so many films given its status as the most historically significant trial in the modern era.

Written and directed by James Vanderbilt, ‘Nuremberg’ is the latest attempt at bringing this story to the screen, with a charming and powerful performance from Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring cancelled out by an overmatched Rami Malek. ‘Nuremberg’ is a narrative mess that feels longer than its already onerous runtime, trying to do way too much while accomplishing shockingly little in the way of satisfying character and plot arcs.

‘Nuremberg’ is essentially two separate movies trying to be one. There’s the first movie, in which Michael Shannon plays Supreme Court justice Robert Jackson who is tasked with dual responsibilities, equally challenging: he must generate support for holding a trial for those responsible for architecting the German atrocities in WWII, rather than just executing them, and he must also secure convictions when such a trial is agreed upon, guaranteeing justice for the Nazi high command. The second movie follows military psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), who is assigned the difficult job of understanding the mental state of these Nazis, most prominently Hermann Göring. Kelley wants to understand how these Nazis think, not just to assist in the courtroom, but with the hopes of publishing a blockbuster book that will provide a psychological definition of evil, such that the horrors of WWII will never be repeated.

These two storylines intertwine at various points, but the resulting film lacks any narrative cohesion and feels sluggish as a result. Characters are introduced as if they will be critical players in the drama to come, only to be given a single emotional scene before being relegated to background actor for the remainder of the film, with hardly a line of dialogue.

As long as this movie is, and as many emotional moments are presented, it’s hard to shake the idea that so much was left on the cutting room floor. How else to explain a scene such as one early on where Michael Shannon turns to his assistant and bemoans the lack of support he has for a trial despite doing everything possible to convince others this is the right thing to do. Really? Did you do everything in your power? Because as a viewer, I’ve only seen you for two scenes at this point, one where you are pitched on the idea of a trial, and another where you pitch your assistant in turn. There’s no montage of Jackson trying to rally support for his cause, nothing onscreen to help the audience understand his struggle and the catharsis of finally getting what he wants. I’m not saying I want this movie to be longer, it was enough of a slog as is, but it’s easy to imagine there’s a longer version of this film that maintains more logical narrative throughlines.

While the screenplay itself lacks the tight, clever structure to shine through other flaws, ‘Nuremberg’ feels like a movie content with living and dying with the quality of its acting. This is Vanderbilt’s second directorial feature after a career mostly as a screenwriter. The direction is mostly uninteresting, with a few notable exceptions – one involving Rudolph Hess’s backstory, and one involving a close-up of the hangman’s rope – as Vanderbilt opts for staid framing and blocking to stay out of the way of his performers. In the case of Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring, this choice pays off. In the case of Rami Malek … not so much.

To be candid, I’ve never understood Rami Malek’s stardom, receiving critical acclaim as he does with seemingly every role. My general reservations of Malek’s acting aside, he seems particularly ill suited for his role here. It’s easy to imagine a vision of Douglas Kelley as similar to Tom Cruise’s attorney in ‘A Few Good Men’. Kelley is a hotshot psychiatrist in a leather jacket and aviator sunglasses, flirting with women, charming children, and so good at his job that reluctant interview subjects open up to him in spite of themselves. But Rami Malek is no Tom Cruise, he lacks the effortless charm that is required for this character. He mumbles from scene to scene, devoid of charisma, coming off more like a serial killer pretending to be a normal human being. Malek seems incapable of reading a line in an unremarkable way, adding bizarre flourishes to small scenes and overacting to a staggering degree in emotional ones. His performance withers even further in comparison to the great Russell Crowe, who comes off almost incidentally charming with every line reading as the reviled Nazi leader. When they get in shouting matches, Malek feels like an amateur throwing a temper tantrum while Crowe’s anger bursts through the screen. As the movie marches on, I found myself feeling empathy for Göring due to Crowe’s masterful work, but never felt empathy for Malek’s psychiatrist despite him being the protagonist.

In ‘Nuremberg’, there are many powerful moments given the content of the trials, but unfortunately the film as a whole lacks narrative clarity. Russell Crowe’s incredible performance as a charismatic and sociopathic Nazi leader is not enough to save ‘Nuremberg’, as the myriad low points overwhelm its attempts at a gripping courtroom drama.

Nuremberg
Rated PG-13 for violent content involving the Holocaust, strong disturbing images, suicide, some language, smoking and brief drug content.
Running Time: 2 hours and 28 minutes

Director James Vanderbilt
Writers James Vanderbilt
Stars Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O’Brien, Colin Hanks, Wrenn Schmidt, Lydia Peckham, Richard E. Grant, Michael Shannon
Rating PG-13
Running Time 148 Minutes
Genres Drama, History, Thriller