Valkyrie Review

Published by Jeff Leins on: December 28th, 2008

After shuffled release dates, difficulty securing German locations, and a power shift at its fledgling production company (United Artists), Valkyrie has finally made it into theaters and is actually better than the negative expectations.  Well, only slightly better.

Even with a stellar supporting cast of recognizable faces (Nighy, Stamp, Branagh, Wilkinson, Izzard), all eyes are on Tom Cruise and his dramatic performance under extreme pressure from public scrutiny.  Thankfully, Cruise is solid as Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the military leader of an inside plot to overthrow Hitler’s Nazi regime.  Those wary of a couch-jumping reenactment will find he’s all business behind the eye patch and straightened uniform.  Anyone willing to separate his public persona from his on-screen presence will see he still has what it takes to carry a movie.  But Cruise isn’t given much to work with in the way of characterization and is instead reduced to stern facial expressions and shifty glances.

Of course, the resistance had to in 1944 when Operation Valkyrie consisted of a secret plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler and mobilize the Reserve Germany Army to seize control.  But the true-to-life depiction included a similar synergy of key elements, resulting in too many players established in such a small window.  With a full cast of characters marching to their orders there is a lack of dimension to any of the roles.

The relationship Stauffenberg had with his family before the Operation was a missed opportunity for more gut-wrenching emotional turmoil and to further utilize the talented Carice van Houten, who plays his wife and mother of his three children.  (For an even better WWII resistance film, check out Black Book starring Houten.)  As it happens, there are still some powerful moments, especially the inevitable execution of the unsuccessful team.

Director Bryan Singer does well with the daunting task of telling a story that has a famously failed ending.  Even with a forgone conclusion, he manages to build a level of suspense from the opening scene that doesn’t let up until the firing squad unleashes.  However, the heist-like climax is positioned curiously in the center with a trailing denouement that coasts its way to the known final scene, so the movie feels front-loaded.

It is shot precisely to create the heightened atmosphere, but Singer oddly gave the film a modern polish.  A slick, shiny sheen that doesn’t fit quite right with the heavy material and shady underground deals.

From what I gathered through some cursory research, the plot of the film stayed true to the details of the July 20 coup, an accuracy that made for a fairly compelling series of events.  However, Singer failed to establish much in the way of context with scarcely a mention of the genocide taking place or soldiers losing their lives on either side of the front.  I’m not entirely cetain if it would be historically correct, but Stauffenberg’s primary concern was for the tarnished image of Germany rather than showing moral sympathy for the millions of lives being needlessly lost.

As for the obvious English-speaking adaptation, the movie sidesteps the language barrier with a subtitled opening and a few German lines from Cruise himself.  Though you’re on your own with the American accents.

I recommend Valkyrie for a DVD viewing, where it will still retain its measured significance as something slightly better than the History Channel might produce.  If you do see it and your appetite is whetted for more intimate WWII plots, check out the aforementioned Black Book and the remarkable Downfall.

3 out of 5.