Clooney is bandied about by the red carpet wags as today's answer to Cary Grant and Clark Gable and, though he indeed always does look smashing, that does not mean he is capable of exhibiting the old world movie star acting that a film like this one calls for. Here, he plays an American officer sent to post WWII Berlin to cover a peace conference who decides to seek out a former lover (Blanchett) while he's there. It turns out, a little too coincidentally, that his driver Maquire also knows her and is carrying on his own affair with her. Blanchett is a woman of many secrets and the more Clooney tries to investigate what's happening with her, the more trouble he finds himself in. He winds up with practically everyone around him, from the Americans to the Soviets, ready to snuff him out as quickly as they can. The film is an experiment. Director Soderbergh set out to recreate the style and technique of 1940's noir film-making and eschewed the use of today's lighting and sound technology, as well as other attributes such as location filming. Clooney more than possesses the classic movie star looks, but his portrayal offers no nods to the past. His walk, his sense of rhythm and his manner are all mostly contemporary, so there's a conflict in presentation from the get-go. If he is less than desirable, than Maguire is nothing short of reprehensible. He's hammy, inappropriate and helplessly 2006 in every aspect of his acting. (These discrepancies are not helped by the inexplicable decision to have the screenplay riddled with expletives that seem terribly out of place within the film, whether they were around in 1945 or not.) In contrast, Blanchett is completely at home and expertly provides the film with the type of character, look and performance that might be found in a film from that era. She completely invests herself in the realm and is easily the best thing about the movie. Bridges and Thompson appear in small roles as confident, potentially shady authority figures. Thompson disappears more into his characterization than Bridges does, but Bridges is all right. Another decent, if contemporary portrayal is turned in by Orser as an army pal of Clooney's who assists him with some investigative details. Oliver, as Blanchett's spouse, is only a couple of years younger than her in real life, but could almost pass for her son! The black and white cinematography varies from striking and evocative to muddy and dull. There is some admirable and interesting art direction, production design and set work. Newman supplies an authentically stirring score though the film ultimately winds up being mostly unworthy of it. It's as if Soderbergh came up with a great idea to pay homage to the great films of the past and then shot himself in the foot through bad decision-making and poor casting (though it's become nearly obligatory by now for his films to star Clooney, he could have at least directed him to a more bit appropriate performance.) The result is a film that bores fans of current movies and disappoints fans of old Hollywood product. The revelations, meant to jolt the viewer, sadly seem a little tame in light of other prior films, not the least of which include "Sophie's Choice" from nearly 25 years earlier! It isn't a complete washout, but certainly falls short.
Review of The Good German
