The Good German

Starring: George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An American journalist (George Clooney) in post-WWII Berlin gets caught up in a mysterious power struggle, along with his driver (Tobey Maguire) and a former flame (Cate Blanchett).

Review:

Tim: If you told me Steven Soderbergh was going to direct a World War II drama starring George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, and Tobey Maguire, AND it was going to be in black and white, I would have been very excited. I couldn't imagine this being a bad movie. Surprisingly, Soderbergh found a way for this to not work. The movie is an utter disappointment. First off, the film clearly tries to emulate Casablanca. Bad move. The homage to that film is obvious throughout this movie. However, compared to that classic, this movie falls far, far short (and it only works to further delineate the flaws of this film).

George Clooney is mostly good throughout the film. I don't swoon over him like many people do, but I am always thoroughly entertained by his performances. He's good here. Cate Blanchett struggles with a thick accent, and although she's a wonderful actress, she doesn't quite pull off this role. She and Clooney don't have much chemistry (which is surprising, because the film depends on this chemistry). Tobey Maguire is woefully miscast. I didn't believe a second of his screen time. At times, it was painful to watch him.

The film tries to give us a twisting, complicated plot. The film is very much a mystery, but after the first few minutes, it is hard to really care about what is happening on screen. There is a certain human tendency to want to see how things will be resolved, but there's no emotion involved. The film tries hard to be complex, with back stories, old flames, etc. None of this translates well on screen. The film drags in many places, which results in a strong feeling of boredom from the audience.

Part of The Good German's problem is that Steven Soderbergh spent so much time and energy trying to make this movie look and feel like the old 40's classic films that he forgot to spend enough time actually making a good movie. To be fair, this film does resemble those old classics- the film looks great. Sadly, it is lacking heart, a good script, and a powerful story. Ironically, Soderbergh captured the look and feel, but left out everything that made those classic films classics.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 4.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Casablanca, The Third Man, The Good Shepherd