The Good German
If war is hell, then what comes after?
In the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, U.S. Army war correspondent Jake Geismar (George Clooney) becomes embroiled with Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), a former lover whose missing husband is the object of a manhunt by both the American and Russian armies. Intrigue mounts as Jake tries to uncover the secrets Lena may be hiding in her desperation to get herself and her husband out of Berlin.
Tully (Tobey Maguire), a soldier in the American army motor pool assigned to drive Jake around Berlin, has black market connections that may be Lena’s way out—or lead them all into even darker territory.
Based on the novel by Joseph Kanon.
Member Reviews
! - basilbenz
Soderberg has brought a metonym to the story . He directs in monochrome and has mixed his own filmed material with stock footage of a devastated Berlin . Remember all those old movies where someone is driving a car and it's painfully obvious that it's filmed on a studio set with back projection ? Well there's a scene featuring Toby McGuire and George Clooney in a jeep where the same technique is used . The film also contains a title sequence straight out of the 1940s and has scenes with an overlong shot duration same as film from yesteryear
Unfortunately by doing this Soderbergh draws attention to the fact that Paul Attanasio's screenplay wasn't written in the 40s because there's a sex scene and several uses of the F word . If you're making a film that's a homage to 1940s cinema shouldn't you go the whole hog and write a screenplay in the same manner ? Hasn't the producer shot himself in the foot ? You'll be left scratching your head wondering why sex and bad language has been included
Still it's a minor complaint and one that doesn't destroy the movie which has a plot and if you had no idea that Cate Blanchett has been cast as Lena Brandt then you'd genuinely believe that her character was played by a European actress . Blanchett is the best actress in the world today and the fact that she wasn't Oscar nominated is another symptom that the annual academy awards are becoming more and more worthless . Tobey McGuire as Tully is considered less effective mainly because he has a sex scene which brought the cry from a couple of my cinema companions " That under no circumstances should spidey be seen to have sex " but seeing as they were both females I'm sure they were upset that George Clooney didn't get the opportunity to do some on screen horizontal jogging . Students of film studies will know the term " Impact aesthetics " and there's a great example of this when Captain Geismer studies a hundred dollar bill which will have you jumping out of your seat iNot A Mystery/Thriller! - greenlizard
Those who rent this movie in the expectation that it will be a plot driven thriller are sure to be disappointed! It was not Soderbergh's intent to come off as a second rate Hitchcock (like DePalma for example).
Instead this movie is a visual stunner that recreates the look and feel of Post-War Berlin very faithfully. It also delves gently into the murky philosophical waters about who bears responsibility for the crimes of the Third Reich.
Cate Blanchett turns in her usual solid performance, but for me the standout was Tobey Maguire in his limited screentime losing his "boy next door" image of Peter Parker and playing against type. Clooney is okay, but my sense of his character is that he is really there solely to drive the plot.
Overall, this film is a visual treat with some interesting and subtle questions to ask, albeit a little slow.Satisfying throwback to the film noir genre - Lone_Wolf
A throwback to the classic noirs of the 40s, The Good German takes place in post war Berlin, where black markets and under the table dealings rule the city and where peoples pasts follow them as closely as shadows. Visually, the movie looks fantastic, a true tribute to the look and feel of the noir classics. I would actually like to see this movie get a cinematography nomination; I really liked how it looked. The story maybe isn’t something I’m going to remember years down the road, but it is still well written and actually has an interesting subtext about whether or not all German’s were guilty for the Nazi crimes or not. I found it interesting how the movie explored this without having it feel tacked on. All in all it’s defiantly a movie I would suggest any fan of film noir go check out when it’s released, I was very satisfied with the movie as a whole, and it’s worth it for the visuals alone.
7.0
Member Reviews
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! - basilbenz
Soderberg has brought a metonym to the story . He directs in monochrome and has mixed his own filmed material with stock footage of a devastated Berlin . Remember all those old movies where someone is driving a car and it's painfully obvious that it's filmed ...Not A Mystery/Thriller! - greenlizard
Those who rent this movie in the expectation that it will be a plot driven thriller are sure to be disappointed! It was not Soderbergh's intent to come off as a second rate Hitchcock (like DePalma for example).
Instead this movie is a visual stunner ...Satisfying throwback to the film noir genre - Lone_Wolf
A throwback to the classic noirs of the 40s, The Good German takes place in post war Berlin, where black markets and under the table dealings rule the city and where peoples pasts follow them as closely as shadows. Visually, the movie looks fantastic, a true ...