I remember when I was at TIFF, I was sitting with several film critics who went to see Nuremberg one morning. As they were discussing the film, I made the comment that the film looked like “your dad’s new favorite World War II drama of the month”. They all laughed and nodded their heads in agreement. As the credits began to roll for Eternity, I looked at my phone only to receive a text from my father, asking if I was planning on seeing Nuremberg at TIFF. Can’t get any more ironic than that.
Following the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, several members of the Nazi high command have been taken into custody by the Allied Forces. Instead of executing them, US Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), wishes to put them on trial for crimes against humanity. In preparations for the trial, Psychiatrist Dr. Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) is hired to evaluate what is left of the Nazi High Command, including Hermann Göring (Russel Crowe). During his evaluations he discovers the darkest depths of humanity.
The Nuremberg Trials are marked as a pivotal point in world history as it was the first international trial and laid the groundwork for what would become the International Court of Justice. It was a large, encompassing trial that required thousands of people to put together. Needless to say that it would be impossible to bottle the entire trial into a single film as it would have to be a miniseries to do it any justice. With Nuremberg choosing such a narrow slice of that history, you would expect the film to offer a sharper, fresher perspective on the trial. Unfortunately, it never gets there as the film is split down the middle, unsure of what story it wants to tell.
On one hand, Nuremberg wants to be this intimate, cat and mouse, psychological thriller between Dr. Douglas Kelley and Hermann Göring. When the film sticks to that lane as it lets these two bounce off of each other inside a cramped prison cell, it actually works. In these scenes, the film digs deep into the messy question of what “evil” even is. Dr. Kelly, played with the nervous, rigid intensity Rami Malek does so well, believes these men are evil incarnate. That there is something about them that makes them inhuman. But he gets a harsh reality check when he meets Hermann Göring, played by the disarmingly charismatic Russel Crowe who is the standout of this film.
When we first meet Göring, he is charming, charismatic, composed and is a surprisingly cooperative prisoner. The last thing that you would expect from someone who was second in command of the Nazi Party. Yet, here he is, on trial for Crimes Against Humanity. As Kelly begins his evaluations, the two end up circling each other as they dissect each other’s psyches in a battle of wills. What emerges is unsettling: they are far more alike than either want to admit. Both men are driven by ego, both carry a streak of narcissism, with Göring’s dialed up to eleven, and both hold themselves extraordinarily high regards. It’s only when Kelly recognizes that these monsters are, in fact, flesh and blood just like him. That is when he sees the true terrifying power of humanity. When the film zeroes in on this relationship, that is when the film is at its strongest.
But on the other hand, Nuremberg also keeps trying to be a full-blown procedural courtroom drama about the Nuremberg Trials themselves. As I have previously stated, no single film can realistically wrangle the sheer scale of those proceedings. So this entire subplot and climax is woefully undercooked. We see hints of the formation of the International Court of Law. Glances of evidence that the prosecution is building. But nothing truly concrete. So by the time we get to the trials, it’s so thin and monotonous that my eyes were rolling to the back of my head. What we’re given is a few minutes of concentration-camp footage, where I must give the film credit for using real archival footage, and a single cross-examination. That is it. That is their grand recreation of one of the most important trials in human history. It compresses an entire year’s worth of proceedings into what feels like a long weekend. It’s a limp, Hollywood-ified gloss over something far too complex to be treated this lazily.
Overall, Nuremberg is a mess of a film. Narratively it doesn’t know what it wants to be as it is torn between two narratives. An intimate, psychological cat and mouse thriller, and a procedural drama of the Nuremberg trials. And on the filmmaking side, it weirdly leans into the sensibilities of a Marvel movie as it is filled with slick, quippy, and overtly polished in ways that absolutely do not serve this material. Whenever the film stayed small and focused, it found its footing. It wasn’t perfect, but it offered a new look into one of the most influential moments in judicial history. But the moment it widens its scope, it collapses under the weight of its own ambition.
My Rating: C+
Now in theaters nationwide.
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