Nuremberg, the new historical drama written and directed by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac), highlights the turmoil the Allies faced in the aftermath of World War II. Left with finding the appropriate repercussions for the surviving Nazi regime during the Holocaust, chief prosecutor Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon) works to piece together evidence of their willing participation. At the same time, US Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) is in a battle of wits with the clever and confident former right-hand man of Adolf Hitler, Herman Göring (Russell Crowe) to determine his competency to stand trial.
Crowe’s performance is without a doubt the high point of the film, and one of his best performances since earlier in his career. It’s a complexly written role that dares to present this historical monster as a rather charming man that audiences may occasionally find themselves unwittingly sympathizing with, all by design of course, and much of that is thanks to Crowe. But rest assured, the atrocities of the man and the regime are all brought to life during the film’s climax, set during the Nuremberg Trials.
Although less impressive than Crowe, Rami Malek’s portrayal of Douglas Kelley is quite interesting and somewhat against type for the actor. Nuremberg presents the psychiatrist as a confident, optimistic man with an energetic infatuation for his work – and maybe himself. Malek’s performance evolves the most from beginning to end, with Kelley’s swagger shaken by the end, replaced with fury following Göring’s head games leading up to the horrid, detailed revelations about the Holocaust during Göring’s trial.
Michael Shannon as chief prosecutor, Robert H. Jackson, feels the most disconnected from the central conflict between Kelley and Göring, which occasionally hurts the overall narrative. Although Shannon is reliably terrific, with a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact approach to the proceedings and is complemented by a wry performance by the great Wrenn Schmidt (For All Mankind) as his secretary Elsie Douglas.
It’s in these little injections of personality throughout where Vanderbilt’s sensibilities for writing and directing blockbusters is most noticeable. For most of it, Nuremberg is not a gruesome walk through the Holocaust and the days leading up to the trials, but something more readily digested. Are the character personalities historically accurate? Probably not, but it makes the bitter pill of the subject matter easier to consume.
The roles mentioned thus far have the most screen time, but there’s plenty of fantastic talent filling out the supporting cast. Leo Woodall is vulnerable in a wonderful performance as Sergeant Howie Triest with a more personal stake in the trials than he initially admits. John Slattery, Richard E. Grant, and Colin Hanks all also add brief but memorable appearances to the film.
Nuremberg doesn’t always live up to the sum of its performances, but still tells a solidly crafted and engrossing take on a dark corner of the Allied post-World War II victory. The film might not revel in the tragedy and darkness quite as deep as Academy voters might prefer, but at the very least, Crowe should be a heavy favorite for an Oscar nomination.
Score: 3.5 out of 5