It would seem that
Tom Cruise's career is destined to be haunted by the spectre of his personal life for the rest of its duraton- already widely castigated for his infamously ill-advised comments and odd public behaviour, Cruise is creeping towards becoming a caricature of himself and has already had to "relaunch" his career even at his relatively young age. Valkyrie was billed as just that relaunch (his cameo in
Tropic Thunder was vaguely enjoyable, though he was overused, and doesnt count as a proper step towards the relaunch, though it did suggest a self-awareness that had seemed obviously absent prior to it), but even that was in danger of falling foul of his personal life. Indeed it was Cruise's near-legendary affiliation with Scientology that almost put the nail in the coffin of Singer's on-location German shooting schedule: the real Colonel von Stauffenberg's son's reaction to the actor's attachment to his father's personal story says it all:
Scientology is a totalitarian religion. The fact that an avowed Scientologist like Mr. Cruise is supposed to play the victim of a totalitarian regime is purely sick. But it seems that just as with his infamous couch-prancing activities and comments about psychiatry being a "Nazi science", Cruise's charisma is unfalteringly convincing, and the shoot went ahead after a meeting with between Cruise, Singer and some senior government figures. Oh to be a fly on that wall... When
Inglourious Basterds hits the screens later this year, there will an inevitable eye recast over
Valkyrie because of the similarities in some of the narrative aspects of both films, and how each deals with the issue of history. Going into both films, the audience knows painfully well that neither the von Stauffenberg plot, nor the fictional plot of
Inglourious Basterds could possibly have ended in success because Hitler was allowed to live on until 1945, before adding his own ghost to those of the Second World War in a cold Berlin bunker. So what matters most in both films- and in
Valkyrie particularly since it purports to be a "true story"- is the manner in which the events unfold, and the tone the film adopts in presenting them. While Tarantino's epic war film gets around the issue of history in the end (I wont spoil it fully), there is still enough of a suggestion in tone that what we are watching is a tragedy in parts- not so with Singer's production, which never really works out how to appease the audience's knowledge that the plot failed in a sufficient manner. Instead of playing it as a tragedy, something which would have made the film infinitely more engaging, it is set up as an all-out tense action thriller, with liberal doses of political intrigue and an odd sense of hope that stumbles and eventually falls flat. Personally, Im inclined to believe that a film that everyone knows the resolution to fundamentally cannot be built upon a foundation of thrills and suspense,and yet that is exactly how Singer has chosen to play it. Aside from the tone issue, the film should be commended for its respect of historical detail- how easy it may have been to embellish for the sake of a few dollars more at the box office. The attention to detail is excellent to see, from costume to location, and from the documentary
The Valkyrie Legacy, and recent documentary release
Operation Valkyrie (
reviewed here) it is obvious that the film-makers have preserved as much of the historical truth as possible.
At the end of the day
Valkyrie was always going to be about one man alone, not the phenomenally brave Colonel von Stauffenberg who unfortunately met his end trying to encourage Hitler to meet his, but the version on screen played by the very American
Tom Cruise. All in all, it is a good performance - Cruise's acting even almost makes up for the fact that the movie as a whole is badly off the right tone- but only almost. He wears the required look of intense determination well, though I still find it hard to believe him as a disenchanted character- it seems strange to me that someone of Cruise's undoubted flair (
Magnolia is a fantastic testament to that much) could so widely miss the mark of as incomplex an emotion to portray as disenchantment. So much has already been said about the tradition of casting English-speaking actors in non-English roles that it seems a lame endeavour to retread that water, but like
Inglourious Basterds,
Valkyrie at least offers a mechanism for the audience to understand that the characters are in fact all still German. While non-German screen Nazis have in the past been quite laughable (Michael Caine's Cockney Nazi officer will always be a particula favourite),
Valkyrie's opening scene in which von Stauffenberg's written thoughts are slowly revealed translated from German to English accounts for the lack of German actors without the film ever descending to the level of
Churchill: The Hollywood Years as I heard it rather crassly predicted it would prior to the film's completion. Aside from Cruise, the star-studded cast is excellent- the highlights being
Kenneth Brannagh's fraught performance and
Eddie Izzard's intense showing- though I still have difficulty believing
Bill Nighy in such lofty roles, after seeing him girate and gurn "sexily" through
Love Actually and before that
Still Crazy. Those are the roles that I see his flimsy, eccentrically elegant demeanour suited to, and seeing him trussed up in his Nazi finest seems simply to stifle him. At the final analysis,
Valkyrie is not a bad film, aside from its tone issues, it has sufficient thrills and suspense (even if they are somewhat ill-advised considering the audience's fore-knowledge of the resolution, and it features some excellent performances from a remarkably rich cast of players. The real question is what itwill represent to Cruise's career going forward, as well as the oft-endangered
United Artists: for the former the film is a welcome proclaimation of his acting stock, and also his ability to attract attention to products because of the power of his star- and for the latter, with Cruise's help, this may well be the first step towards solidifying their position on the market.
I'm often reluctant to include the official synopsis sent to me when reviewing a film: I grew up believing that a synopsis was an objective summary of the events of a film or book, that crucially never disgraced itself with emotional attachment or hyperbole. At the end of this review you will find what I was offered and asked to include in this review- the final sentence may well be a fitting evaluation of the movie, but it is not a relevant part of the synopsis. But who am I to complain?
Official SynopsisBased on the incredible true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) and his ingenious assassination plot targeting Adolf Hitler, this engrossing thriller reenacts the daring operation to eliminate one of the most evil tyrants the world has ever known. Co-starringKenneth Branagh,Bill Nighy,Tom Wilkinson,Terence Stamp andEddie Izzard, Valkyrie delivers gripping suspense and pulse-pounding excitement from start to finish.Blu-ray Special Features:Disc One Commentary by Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie Commentary by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander Featurettes: -
The Journey to ValkyrieTom Cruise andBryan Singer -
The Road to Resistance: A Visual Guide -The African Front Sequence -Taking to the Air -Recreating Berlin -92nd Street Y: Reel Pieces with -The Valkyrie LegacyDisc Two Digital Copy on DVD (DIGITAL COPY of the film that allows you to transfer the entire movie onto a portable device such as your iPod or laptop)
DVD Special Features: Commentary by Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie Commentary by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander Featurettes: -The Journey to Valkyrie -The Valkyrie Legacy
Extras Review It's always good to see the Blu-Ray version of a release given extra special treatment, and
Valkyrie really doesnt disappoint, with a lot of documentary featurettes exclusive to the high definition package. Chief among the features on both versions of the film are the twin commentaries: the first by the lead, director and writer who have an engaging rapport and make some astute and enlightening comments about the context of the film; the second is strictly the writing team, who offer some interesting thoughts on adapting history into movies. To have two commentaries that actually enrich the viewing experience, when most DVD releases fail to even manage one is an achievement not to be underestimated. The only issue I really have with the Extras is the inclusion of the Digital version of the film that takes up Disc Two of both the Blu-Ray and DVD packages- I simply do not see the need. Fair play to the film-makers though for including the free version, as it looks as if the Digital avenue could well be the way forward for most distribution models as theatrical releases become less of an option for any movies other than the high-end or 3D releases. Maybe I'm wrong but I believe that the digital audience will find their movies without needing to spring for the price of a DVD- after all, iTunes didnt need to give away free digital versions of their tracks with physical purchases.
Valkyrie is available to buy on Blu-Ray and DVD now!