Review: Valkyrie

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Review: Valkyrie

Well, how excellent and disconsolate was that? First of all, Valkyrie (or, ‘The film in which the most evil man in history triumphs over the protagonists, effectively ensuring the further deaths of millions of people worldwide, hooray’) heralds the return of the indubitably talented Tom Cruise in his first role worth watching since 2004’s Collateral. Secondly, Valkyrie is directed by Bryan Singer, who after purposely destroying most of Superman Returns remembers that he is actually a brilliant director, not a terrible one, and drops the comic books in favour of exploring the original man influenced by the idea of Nietzsche’s Übermensch, Adolf Hitler. Thirdly, there is no happy Hollywood ending. Hitler is not killed, the war does not end, and none of the conspirators get away with it. They are all unceremoniously executed. How refreshing.
The story is everything in Valkyrie. The plot concerns Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) and a resistance of like-minded civilian and military persons who conspire to assassinate Hitler and place a new government in power before any of his inner circle can seize control. Obviously this fails. You might think that knowing what happens at the end would spoil it, but actually quite the opposite is the case. Despite knowing the outcome, you still find yourself hoping that their plan will succeed and for maybe five minutes it seems to the audience, and to Stauffenberg, that the impossible has been achieved; the coup d’etat has been successful, Berlin is under resistance leadership, and contingents of SS soldiers are being arrested all over Europe. Sadly, the dream crumbles, everybody is put to death, and the audience eat their popcorn somewhat slower than they did a moment ago (although, who still has popcorn at the end of a film? The human/idiot behind me.) What is truly interesting about Valkyrie are the butterfly-effect instances which interfere with Stauffenberg’s plot. For instance, the sunny weather means that the room for Hitler’s military conference is moved to a place not as susceptible to a bomb blast. A couple of degrees lower in temperature and he would almost certainly have been killed. Similarly, the hesitant decision by the officer in charge of the station which relayed military orders across Germany to side against Stauffenberg and therefore cut off any communication from his headquarters destroys any chance the resistance have of maintaining control. This may or may not be the worst decision of all time (except for that entirely unrelated one in 1933.)
Thankfully, the usually espiègle Cruise plays Stauffenberg as entirely serious, a tortured man who can see how Hitler’s actions will cloud the world’s judgement of “unser heiliges Deutschland” for generations to come. Cruise particularly shines following Stauffenberg’s realisation that his plot has failed, as you can see the hope literally draining from his face to be replaced by abject resignation. Bill Nighy as General Olbricht is likewise fantastic, not only because he looks like a zombie, but because he highlights Olbricht’s questionable actions during the coup and does not try to paint his character in a sympathetic light, despite his position as a key member of the resistance.
Only a couple of trivial factors detract from Valkyrie. Firstly, why does Albert Speer only receive a one second cameo? “Because he has nothing to do with the film.” Fine, but the actor playing Speer looked more like him than the actor portraying Göring, and Göring had numerous close-ups in the Berghof scene. Secondly, which is more of a continuation of the first point, why didn’t the casting crew cast the sergeant in the relay room, who played Göring in Hitler: the Rise of Evil, as Göring? “Because you’re literally the only person in the world who cares, that’s why.” Fine.
Overall, everybody should see Valkyrie because it is an important film that does not shy away from telling the truth about a number of Germans who actively opposed Hitler’s totalitarian regime. As some colonel says, “Every second we stand here is a second lost!” So...go and see it quickly.

Grant Price