Review of The Good German (2006) by Everett J — 14 Jun 2008

The Good German.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Written by Paul Attanasio.

Based on the novel by Joseph Kanon.

Starring Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, Ravil Isyanov, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges, Dave Power, Robin Weigert, Christian Oliver.

In stark black and white, this lush exercise in style tells a complicated story based on duplicity, fear, and the universal desire to be left to one?s own devices in a world turned upside down.

The story takes place in Post War Germany just as world officials descend on Potsdam Conference to determine the proper course of action in dealing with German industry and the aftereffects of their war effort. Jake Geismer (Clooney) is a war correspondent who has returned to Berlin. His life becomes infinitely more unnerving and complicated after his driver, Tully (Maguire), is found murdered along a riverbank. Geismer also runs into a woman Tully has been keeping named Lena Brandt (Blanchett) who Geismer used to sleep with and employ as a stringer. Geismer is drawn into the mystery of Tully?s death as well as the strange circumstances related to Lena?s husband Emil (Oliver) who is wanted for various reasons by the three occupying forces. The film slowly reveals details about these mysteries through the eyes of Geismer.

The world created by this film is one of tremendous intrigue that comes to the viewer from a baffling array of angles. As it slowly unfolds to reveal nuances of plot, it retains a definite application of style that is demonstrated most succinctly by the Soderbergh?s lush cinematography. The film reeks with an impossible glamour that occasionally takes away from the structure of the narrative. Still, the essence of the story emerges through the fractured portrayal of Lena by Cate Blanchett. Lena is a broken toy, an occasional prostitute, who isn?t at all everything she claims to be. She clings to ideas about how her future might be while perpetually being haunted by her past.

The complex relationships that emerge as the film progresses are gradually untied to reveal networks of treachery and deceit that run up into the very echelons of power. This is a film that deals with secrecy and the difficulty that Emil Brandt faces upon discovering some rather sticky secrets that certain political bodies want to cover up. Brandt is portrayed in this film as the Good German from the title. He is a former SS man who knows something untoward about his boss, Franz Bettman (David Willis) that the Americans want whitewashed from his record so they can employ him to work in their rocket program. Subsequently, there is a price put on his head and Lena is attempting to hide him out so they can escape together to America.

Fear and grave menace are palpable throughout this film as psychological threats to the proper order inherent in the process of merely moving on with one?s life. There is great sadness in the form of Lena although many of the other characters often appear to be devoid of emotional response. Indeed, there is a cold fog that envelops much of what happens in this film and the viewer remains entirely on the outside of what is occurring in the narrative. There aren?t many inroads into what the characters are actually thinking about and this detracts from the overall potency of the story. There aren?t very many revealing moments that don?t directly serve the thrust of the narrative.

Within the context of Post War Germany, this film offers an absorbing portrait of the factors that influenced the course of world politics after the dismantling of Germany?s war machine. Still, the efforts by the Allies to revenge themselves against the bloated carcass of Germany are merely a backdrop to the true urgency of the narrative. At heart, this is a film about escaping one?s past, however sinister and loathsome it might be considered by those who suddenly find themselves in power. Complicity with the Nazi?s is explored as tool of survival in the case of Lena who gave up several Jews to the Gestapo in order to remain free of the camps. With this horrible secret she attempts to navigate her way through barbed wire and booby traps that would otherwise disrupt her progress toward a less cataclysmic existence. It is also revealed by Lena that she killed Tully because he was getting to close to discovering things she certainly wants to keep hidden.

The performances in this film are generally quite good. Cate Blanchett is eternally haunted as Lena. Blanchett possesses the rare gift of being able to slip effortlessly into the skin of her character leaving zero traces of her own personality in the process. She gives Lena a fragility that is as heartbreaking as it determined by her circumstances. Blanchett gives yet another natural performance which is accentuated by her near-flawless German. Lena is excruciatingly damaged by the war and yet remains determined to survive by any means necessary. There is also a strong inner intensity to Lena that Blanchett conveys through the symbols of her posture and gesture. George Clooney is typically unaffected in his unabashedly cool and charming way. Even after his character is thrashed no less than three times early on, Clooney emerges as a slightly dusty but no less gregarious personality. As easy as it is to forget Blanchett in her role, its decisively less so to forget Clooney in his. This becomes even more pronounced in Tobey Maguire?s performance. It?s never in doubt that Maguire is playing the role and his performance is stiff and utterly unnatural.

Beau Bridges brings a frightening intensity to his performance as the slappable poster boy of military hubris. His character exudes a smarmy necessity that considers itself above all considerations of propriety, decency and good faith. The military animal in this film is showcased as not being above using its prowess to control circumstances to its liking.

Overall, there is a message here but it?s difficult to wade through the muck to ascertain it. The overall story is complicated to the point of inscrutability but the film works primarily on style points and as a vehicle for the talents of George Clooney and Cate Blanchett. It?s mostly a well acted film that exploits a moment in history where the future of Europe literally lay in the balance. The urgency of the stock footage doesn?t necessarily bleed into the rest of the film but it provides a fascinating backdrop that can be explored at leisure divorced from this picture. Still, it?s a gorgeous film and Cate Blanchett captures the fragmented soul of her character with quiet efficiency. Ultimately, this film is beautifully photographed and the story manages to maintain a certain level of mystery throughout. It?s earnest in its attempts to relate the severity of the time period and creates an ambience that resonates long after the credits roll.