Bea says:
We nearly didn't make it to this film due to freak rainstorm just as we were about to leave; when we arrived the opening credits were rolling. I had vaguely read a few reviews of this film previously - but couldn't remember much except that it was sort of film noir. I only remembered that George Clooney was in it when I saw him on screen, although frankly he's always left me cold. The plot was somewhat predictable - Clooney plays an American reporter who was posted to Berlin prior to WW2 during which time he had a passionate affair with Blanchett's character, after the war he returns to Berlin to find her. He does find her and uncovers a secret about her life. However there are no great surprises, and the ending is a rip off of Casablanca, with seemingly no irony. Clooney is passable but wooden - Cate Blanchett steals the show as Lena. I did enjoy the cinematography, the light and shade of black and white film on a big screen, and I also enjoyed the rare treat of being told the story of a woman's experience of war. It could've been much, much better than it was.
Cecil says:
The Good German was disappointing. Not only was the ending Casablanca Mark II, but the whole film was trying to create a Casablanca feel and failing to do so. If anyone has seen von Trier's Europa, the idea of black and white to portray end-of-the-war Berlin is also borrowed - nice footage of Churchill, Stalin & co outside crumbling Berlin buildings, but I kept wondering if we were not going to see George Clooney doing a Woody Allen in Zelig and appearing alongside Joe or Winston at the Potsdam talks. It all seemed so second-hand and, dare I say it, formulaic...
And why oh why do so many American thriller/murder/spy films have such complicated storylines (verging on the Usual Suspects) constantly out to surprise us with yet another twist - it just isn't necessary if you have a damn good story and a gripping dialogue. To be quite honest, I was bored and found myself shuffling around in the not very good seats at the Beckenham Odeon (I'm being unfair on Beckenham Odeon, though, because they do have one magnificent art-deco room which is a delight to sit in - they just didn't show The Good German in it!).
Marks out of five? ** from Cecil
**.5 from Bea
We nearly didn't make it to this film due to freak rainstorm just as we were about to leave; when we arrived the opening credits were rolling. I had vaguely read a few reviews of this film previously - but couldn't remember much except that it was sort of film noir. I only remembered that George Clooney was in it when I saw him on screen, although frankly he's always left me cold. The plot was somewhat predictable - Clooney plays an American reporter who was posted to Berlin prior to WW2 during which time he had a passionate affair with Blanchett's character, after the war he returns to Berlin to find her. He does find her and uncovers a secret about her life. However there are no great surprises, and the ending is a rip off of Casablanca, with seemingly no irony. Clooney is passable but wooden - Cate Blanchett steals the show as Lena. I did enjoy the cinematography, the light and shade of black and white film on a big screen, and I also enjoyed the rare treat of being told the story of a woman's experience of war. It could've been much, much better than it was.
Cecil says:
The Good German was disappointing. Not only was the ending Casablanca Mark II, but the whole film was trying to create a Casablanca feel and failing to do so. If anyone has seen von Trier's Europa, the idea of black and white to portray end-of-the-war Berlin is also borrowed - nice footage of Churchill, Stalin & co outside crumbling Berlin buildings, but I kept wondering if we were not going to see George Clooney doing a Woody Allen in Zelig and appearing alongside Joe or Winston at the Potsdam talks. It all seemed so second-hand and, dare I say it, formulaic...
And why oh why do so many American thriller/murder/spy films have such complicated storylines (verging on the Usual Suspects) constantly out to surprise us with yet another twist - it just isn't necessary if you have a damn good story and a gripping dialogue. To be quite honest, I was bored and found myself shuffling around in the not very good seats at the Beckenham Odeon (I'm being unfair on Beckenham Odeon, though, because they do have one magnificent art-deco room which is a delight to sit in - they just didn't show The Good German in it!).
Marks out of five? ** from Cecil
**.5 from Bea
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