The Strange Case of Claus Von Stauffenberg and Valkyrie

Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, Jamie Parker, and Eddie Izzard, Thomas Kretschmann, Carice van Houten, Christian Berkel directed by Bryan Singer, co-written by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander.

Both director Bryan Singer and star Tom Cruise have described Valkyrie as an adventure thriller. Maybe that's what they had in mind -- which is understandable since Cruise has established himself as an actor who can drive such films -- but they should have pushed the notion aside. Maybe Singer can't help but make a film full of elaborately uniformed heroes and villains; after all he effectively launched the X-Men franchise and re-imagined Superman (albeit in the none-too-successful Superman Returns).

With reasonable diligence and relative accuracy, Valkyrie tells the intricate story of Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler and, with his band of co-conspirators, take over the crumbling Third Reich before the Allies force an unconditional surrender on his homeland. Stauffenberg was an aristocrat, an active soldier, and an unrepentant nationalist who believed in the greater glory of the German people.

A devout Catholic, he was appalled by the Nazis' brutality and lack of honor. With other aristocrats and conservative Catholics (played by Branagh, Nighy, Stamp, Parker, and Izzard among others), he joined a resistance movement that plotted to kill Hitler and remove the fanatic Nazis from power while still believing in a German victory. By July 20, 1944, the day of this final attempt against Hitler, a surrender to the Allies was still possible that would have allowed Teutonic dignity to remain intact.

As the film unfolds, the resistance has become increasingly desperate, since earlier attempts to kill Hitler failed and the war has taken a decidedly dismal turn. Stauffenberg, who had been terribly wounded by an Allied attack in North Africa (he lost an eye, a hand and most of the fingers on his other hand), is sent to a Munich hospital to recover. The conspirators engage Stauffenberg to join them, and he goes from discouraged conspirator (he has little faith in the civilian plotters) to key organizer who must both kill Hitler and initiate the coup that gets the regular Army to suppress the Nazi cadres of the SS and Gestapo ("Operation Valkyrie"). Fortunately, he has risen in rank to Colonel, has been transferred to Berlin and becomes part of the general staff so that gives him access to Hitler.

This tale becomes richly compelling as the audience gets to know who the players are. As we learn about the various plotters' motives, we see the attempt unfold and ultimately fail. Though Singer accelerates its thriller pace, Valkyrie reveals a lot about the striations and counterforces in German society that led to the Nazis' takeover and their iron-fisted control of the country. As the historical facts of the July 20th coup emerge, we see the complex dynamics behind the scenes that suggests that the German Third Reich was far from a coherent juggernaut, but a careening mess of madness and compliance. Unfortunately, Valkyrie breezes along without enough moments of digression to illuminate the various factions involved and the failures of character that caused this plot to fail.

Though an excellent crew of international actors -- Brits Nighy, Wilkinson, Euro-actors Kretschmann, and van Houten -- round out the cast, they play their parts in disconcerting English accents. Nonetheless, the supporting characters provide a substantial foundation to nurture Cruise's Stauffenberg as de-facto coup leader.

Even though Cruise dominates throughout, Singer assembles the film from a kaleidoscopic bunch of set pieces that speed up into the failed coup and the conspirators' executions. While the diminutive Cruise gives Stauffenberg a large presence, he performs the character with greater restraint and poise than he has shown in the past. Though his very Americanness sometimes gets hard to overlook, Cruise manages a fine performance.

Having recently watched a much younger Cruise in Jerry Maguire one could see the making of the superstar. With an abundant energy and passion, Cruise imprinted on his character both an edge and vulnerability, like a loving kid with attention deficit disorder. But the Cruise of Valkyrie is all about control, and though his mania seethes underneath the surface, he effectively manages it as Stauffenberg makes his bid to determine Germany's destiny.

The script tries to seed the film with the rich historical, cultural and political realities of the time among a field of ever-intensifying action. But while Singer nearly overwhelms with the powerful imagery of Nazi culture -- elaborate military uniforms, Swastika-graced flags and banners, and the imposing architecture -- he sacrifices background for the drama, occasionally diminishing the importance of the story.

One can only begin to appreciate Valkyrie by getting past preconceptions of Tom Cruise in an eyepatch and Nazi regalia or the baggage of his "Oprah" appearances. And if you can get past the polyglot of accented English or the scuttlebutt about the film finding an appropriate release date, then "Valkyrie" is both suspenseful and enlightening. It goes far beyond the cliche that pits "heroic/good Nazis" against the "bad" fanatics who supported Hitler, but rather reveals the intricate and daunting dynamics the led to the rise and fall of the Third Reich.

Comments

[dben]

Poor Tom. No People's Choice Award tonight.

[Dukedraven]

In my mind, Stauffenberg wasn't such a hero. But in a country where so many people did atrocious things, the Germans needed something to feel proud of, and so they glorified his rather ineffectual-- though morally right--deeds.

[Dukedraven]

I've known of this story since I took a course on Nazi Germany back in the late 70s. I'm surprised at how few people knew about it, or why Hollywood hadn't made a movie about it until now.

[wakupmagy]

I cannot understand all the knee-jerk derision aimed at Tom Cruise, He is a fine actor and yet seems to have pushed some mysterious pop culture button that has turned on the snark.

Even this post praises Valkyrie as a film while marginalizing Cruise's contribution. Well, just one minute. He didn't simply wander onto the set by accident, put on the eye patch and start saying his lines. He actively chose this role, and his participation made the production possible. That took guts and took imagination.

And all the whinging about accents is ridiculous. If you cannot suspend belief enough to accept an American accent in this film, then you need to wait for the German version of the story. Of course, that may take a long, long time.

[marignymitch]

An explanation for the derision.

It's Cruise's ego-stoked CRAZY. Mr Balfour described it accurately as a seething 'mania'. His pathology is so thick I can't see through it to access the characters he plays.

[frustratedinohio]

I really loved this movie. Say what you will about TC, but he's the only reason I go out to see a movie. He's a sure bet.

[paulfree17]

The differences between then and now is that today there would have been a suicide bomber.

There were 15 unsuccessful attempts on the life of Hitler according to the scroll at the end of the movie. Obviously none-successful. One wonders how the Third Reich got as far as it did if those who worked from within could not even kill one person.

If there were so many German's who really wanted Hitler dead why couldn't one of these Generals or Colonels at Wolf's lair just pulled out a gun and shoot him. Where were the suicide assassins when you needed them?

[viewfromuphere]

it wasn't that simple...Hitler as time went on got more difficult to get to...he'd changed schedules last minute for example. I don't know if one of the 15 attempts noted in the film was Speer's plan to drop gas into Hitler's berlin bunker but on the day he was going to attempt this...there were new filters installed and his opprotunity was lost.
Keep in mind, it's been demonstrated that had the bomb not been moved or the meeting not moved ...Hitler would have died from Stauffenburg's bomb.

That was demonstrated by the physical recreation of the attempt by explosive experts, engineers and historians.

[jojojo]

Cruise was better than i expected, but I wouldn't call it "fine." He' s only asked to be stolid, which he does OK with, but he's not compelling. He is, however surrounded by a very interesting story and excellent actors, so the movie is a pleasant surprise.

[ImmanuelGoldstein]

My feellings about Stauffenberg are somwhat contradictory. He was OK with the Hitlers aggression bringing suffering to millions so long as it advanced a 'greater Germany' but when things began turning against that Germany, Hitler had to go. He, like so many German military types were willing to go along for the ride so long as Der Fuhrer was on a roll.
I'd give a lot to ask Stauffenberg just what was 'honorable' about the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, etc.
Ironically by this time the allied intelligence agencies were winding down their own plans to assassinate Hitler. The feeling was he was handling the war so badly he was more valuable alive than dead!

[Brad Balfour - Huffpost Blogger]

I can't agree more about your comments on Stauffenberg--he wasn't bemoaning going to war--only losing and doing it so dishonorably. He did hate the Nazis but he was also an old school aristocrat who hated the communists even more. No matter how you stack it, this was a hard film to get right and I think they did an admirable job with it.

[viewfromuphere]

perhaps explaining why it's taken so long for any film to be made...it's just not a black and white story.