Allied - Movie Review
Rating: 3 out of 5
There's a terrific script at the heart of this World War II thriller, with a blast of complex romance alongside some dark Hitchcockian twists. But filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) was probably the wrong man for the directing job, as he overproduces every scene to within an inch of its life. Everything is so big and slick that the story begins to be swamped by the too-perfect costumes and scenery. Which makes it difficult for the audience to engage in what should really be a scrappy, dangerous little drama.
It all kicks off in 1942 Casablanca, where Canadian pilot Max (Brad Pitt) meets French resistance agent Marianne (Cotillard), and together they pose as a couple to infiltrate a party and assassinate a high-ranking Nazi. They also fall in love, and afterwards decide to move to London together and start a family. But a year later, as they are raising their young daughter in leafy Hampstead, Max is told by British officials (Jared Harris and Simon McBurney) that Marianne may have secretly been a German spy all along. And there's now a countdown, as a trap as been laid to prove her guilt unless Max can find evidence to the contrary.
What follows is a tense series of events that are drenched in suspicion and intrigue as Max scrambles around to find the truth while trying not to let Marianne know what he's up to. It's a clever set-up that's very nicely played by Pitt and Cotillard, both of whom bring contrasting layers of emotion and subterfuge to their roles, plus plenty of swooning romantic energy. Most intriguing is that both are able to remain likeable as things progress. So whatever the outcome, it won't change how we feel about them. The adept actors in the side roles are excellent, although they're little more than more scenery around the central couple.
And the problem here is that there's just so much scenery! Zemeckis makes the film so lavish that there isn't a single moment that looks authentic. Costumes appear to have been sewn together just before filming began, sets are far too precisely decorated, even the grains of sand in a Moroccan sand-storm seem to be choreographed. But Steven Knight's script would have been much better served by a lower-budget, less-is-more approach that could capture the gritty desperation that leads these people to do some outrageous things. That said, the larger themes still grab hold, asking the question of how well we can ever know someone, even if we love and trust them unconditionally.
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Facts and Figures
Year: 2016
Genre: Thriller
In Theaters: Wednesday 23rd November 2016
Production compaines: Paramount Pictures, GK Films
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 3 / 5
Cast & Crew
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Producer: Graham King, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis
Screenwriter: Steven Knight
Starring: Brad Pitt as Max Vatan, Marion Cotillard as Marianne Beausejour, Lizzy Caplan as Bridget Vatan, Matthew Goode as Guy Sangster, Jared Harris as Frank Heslop, Anton Lesser as Emmanuel Lombard, August Diehl as Hobar, Marion Bailey as Mrs. Sinclair, Charlotte Hope as Louise, Raffey Cassidy as Anna Vatan, Camille Cottin as Monique, Daniel Betts as George Kavanagh, Sally Messham as Margaret, Thierry Frémont as Paul Delamare, Xavier de Guillebon as Claude, Vincent Latorre as Vincent, Celeste Dodwell as Scarlet, Michael McKell as German Officer Anfe Cafe, Phillipe Spall as Monet, Raphael Desprez as Degas, Éric Théobald as Gendarme-Dieppe, Ami Metcalf as Roxie, Raphael Acloque as Renoir, Christian Rubeck as Lars, Iain Batchelor as Lt. James Fletcher, Angelique Joan as French Girl - Dieppe, Anton Blake as The German Ambassador, Cecilia Gragnani as Hazel, Angus Kennedy as Geoffrey, Lukas Johne as Jörg, Hannah Flynn as Lindy Hopper, Jason Matthewson as Agent Hicks, Vikki Edwards as Madame Pette, Emma-Jane Martin as Woman at Party, Roman Green as Amputee Hospital Patient, Miroslav Zaruba as German Soldier, Russell Balogh as Marianne's Friend, Tony Paul West as V-Section, Billy Burke as Dancer, Claire Richardson as Nurse at Desk, Lasco Atkins as Bohemian Man, Michael Haydon as Newspaper Man, Jonathan Cass as German Officer, Ty Hurley as Distinguished Home Guard, Shane Griffin as Sailor, Paul Longley as Soldier at Party, Richard Hills Jr. as RMP Sergeant, Evie Wray as Girl Walking Through Glass, Jason Grangier as Vichy French Air Force Officer, Sophie Karl as Female Geek, Peter Meyer as Max's Non-uniformed Friend, Freddie Stewart as RAF Officer, Marinelly Vaslon as French Girl, Sophie Shad as Midwife, Sternkiker François as German Soldier, Jake Wyatt as Young Sailor, Christopher McMullen as R.A.F Police Officer, Paul Leon Bridger as WWII Pilot, John Skerritt as V-Section, David Bonneville as RAF Officer Soe, Laraine Dix as Pub Goer / Singer, Ben Laumann as RAF Motorcyclist, Cameron Beames as SS German Officer, Saif Lone as Moroccan Embassy Man, Melissa Sirol as French Girl in Dieppe, Sorcha Garavan as Special Agent, Robert Isaac Harker as Gentleman in English pub, Tiar Lounis as French Soldier, Glyn Angell as Scarred Soldier (uncredited), Tomasz Dabrowski as German Officer (uncredited)
Also starring: Simon McBurney, Graham King, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, Steven Knight