About the film (courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics):
The Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor, Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), have the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust while a US Army psychiatrist (Rami Malek) is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Herman Göring (Russell Crowe).
Dramatic, but not totally historically accurate. Nuremberg is an interesting stained-glass window into the post World War 2 era, where some details are exaggerated or left out for effect. The movie centers around psychiatrist Douglas Kelley’s (Rami Malek) relationship with Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe), Hitler’s right-hand man, just after being captured following the fall of the Third Reich. This star studded cast also features Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon), spearheading the prosecution of the disgraced Nazis. Alongside Colonel Burton C. Andrus (John Slattery) who was responsible for maintaining order within the prison that the criminals found themselves in.
Nuremberg kind of resembles that of something one would find in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with everything from the “Welcome to Nuremberg” line featured in the trailer, an emphasized trek to the Vatican to blackmail the pope, to a very American centered retelling of the story based on the 2013 non fiction book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” by Jack El-Hai. The serious tone of Russel Crowe’s performance is sometimes overshadowed by Rami Malek’s womanizer persona that creates an odd tonal shift. Rami is a smooth-talking magician, doctor and fighter while also seemingly moonlighting as a psychiatrist. This makes for an entertaining but not entirely believable series of events. This is also counterbalanced by the brutal footage of Auschwitz that is used throughout the movie that can be very jarring to watch at times.
Nuremberg definitely did not struggle to feel as though it were progressing. It was able to use things like the construction of the courtroom in Nuremberg to generate a feeling of forward momentum that helped get over the two hour and twenty eight minute run time. It certainly went on longer than it should have in some scenes while abridging the actual trial down to just one day’s time. Which unfortunately seems to be where the movie shines thanks to Crowe’s Oscar seeking performance. That’s not to say that all parts of the movie were as slow as the cars of that period but it would have left more of an impact had it been a bit shorter.
To summarize, Nuremberg, while taking as much historical liberty as it could while still clinging to its original ties, watches similar to “Twelve Angry Men” in its litigation sequences. It also does a good job of exploring its own concepts and why they are important (i.e., Michael Shannon’s character explaining that the trials were intended to prevent the Nazi commanders from just becoming martyrs for future Germans by giving them their day in court). However, the movie seems to hint at times with the prospect of exploring the nature of evil and how people could commit the crimes that were carried out under Hitler but it fails time and time again to actually to actually see that plot point fully realized.
Overall, a worthwhile viewing experience if you can suspend your desire for the intricacies and nuance that a film like this usually calls for. Based on the book, The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai, Nuremberg is in theaters Friday, November 7th.
