Nuremberg

Rather than attempt to reimagine the excellent 1961 “Judgement at Nuremberg”, this fact-based drama focuses more on events prior to that; those that see the allied judiciary seek to get into the mind of the recently incarcerated Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe). To do that, the Americans draft in psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) who has quite an unorthodox methodology when it comes to his patients. He knows that his quarry is shrewd, sophisticated and that he is no pushover, but in order for himself to deliver the characterisation his bosses want for public consumption, he is going to have to deftly acquire this man’s confidence. Those sensitivities are largely born out of a concern that the Allies have no authority to try anyone for anything. There was no such thing as international law in 1946. Who were the Americans or the Brits to retrospectively reassess the behaviour of free thinking and acting German citizenry in their own country when they were acting as a direct result of a democratic election? It is therefore essential that Kelley is able to provide overwhelming proof that Göring and his cohort were actively complicit in the Holocaust. Set against a backdrop of a ruined nation and with occupying forces who were war-weary and already mistrusting in some quarters, it was even more crucial that agreement was reached with the Soviets too. Now on the more international scale, this doesn’t work quite so well. The dynamic is very much led by the Americans via their supreme court justice Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon) with some support from Briton Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe (Richard E. Grant) but neither French nor Soviet jurists feature at all here. That’s a shame, but it still doesn’t impact too much on the concentrated focus on the emerging and complex relationship between Kelley and Göring - and both Malek and Crowe present strongly as their intellectual cat and mouse game plays out. Leo Woodall’s role as Sgt. Howie Triest is periodically important, especially towards the denouement and he carries it off adequately, as does Tom Keune’s presentation of Robert Ley which, in itself, showcases something of the true character of some of a Nazi high command devoid of humanity, decency and quite often courage too. Of course it is history, so James Vanderbilt hasn’t so much room to manoeuvre as the plot thickens, but this is still quite an effective look at the psychology of the peace and of that mentality when it came to differentiating between justice and revenge. This drama is a well crafted piece of cinema, but as ever it’s the real life newsreels from the camps that sticks in your mind, turns your stomach and removes any of the understanding you might feel for Crowe’s unnervingly personable portrayal of a brute in a blue suit.