The Good German
Director Steven Soderbergh
Warner Brothers Pictures
It only gets worse in Berlin.
Or so say the characters in Steven Soderbergh’s latest
film, “The Good German,” an attempt at film noir about
post-World War II Berlin.
But, like the city itself, the movie only spirals downward
because of its convoluted plot, which includes political figures
(American and Russian primarily), former SS members, rocket
scientists and a prostitute with a mysterious past. The confluence
of these characters and their interests turns out like an inept
metaphor.
For all the faults in its plot, as a period piece, “The
Good German” delivers on the aesthetic front. The film, shot
entirely in black and white, uses real footage from post-war
Germany and plays with a motion-picture chiaroscuro of shadows,
dark corners and windows steeped in sunlight. The costumes are
authentic 1940s couture: coats, hats and shiny shoes. The authentic
set is complete with buildings ruined by fire and bombings with
staircases of rubble and collapsed roofs.
However, the history lesson embedded in the story of the
U.S.-Russian politics that would lead to the Cold War is only
tangential to the plot despite the fact that it is one of the more
interesting elements.
The manipulation more inherent to the plot is too complicated to
continue throughout the entire film. And, unlike most political
movies of late, including Soderbergh and George Clooney’s
last collaboration, “Syriana,” there are no real
contemporary resonances. The movie stands alone as a piece of
art.
“The Good German” is an attractive film with a good
cast but, perhaps for lack of a coherent story, the actors too have
their faults.
The talented Cate Blanchett delivers the strongest performance
as a German prostitute, a Jewish woman and the wife of an SS
official. Her character’s internal conflict provides much of
the drama for the film. But of all the cast members, Blanchett
overacts the least.
Most of the other performances, including Clooney’s, are
marked by melodrama only heightened by musical crescendos at
inopportune moments.
Shot in black and white, the movie harks back to film noir of
the ’40s and ’50s and tries to mimic the quality of
films such as “Casablanca” and “Witness for the
Prosecution.”
However, Clooney is no Bogart and, though she is incredibly
talented, Blanchett is no Bergman.
It seems that, for all its good intentions, “The Good
German” falls short of the subtlety and intelligence of the
films it imitates.