A WWII psychiatrist evaluates Nazi leaders before the Nuremberg trials, growing increasingly obsessed with understanding evil as he forms a disturbing bond with Hermann Göring.

‘Nuremberg’ is a city in Germany, but its name holds such weight in history that you can title a movie with its name and just about everyone will know what subject is being covering off the bat. That is of course the Nuremberg trials, held in the aftermath of the Second World War, where surviving senior ranking Nazis were put on trial for their crimes against humanity committed during the war. There have been films made about this subject before, namely 1959’s ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’, with James Vanderbilt’s effort attempting to add fresh insight by focusing on the conversations held between an American psychiatrist (Douglas Kelley, played by Rami Malek), and Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe), the highest-ranking Nazi on trial.

The ‘trial of the century’ holds such innate interest and it’d be virtually impossible to make an uninteresting film about what happened, so I did really enjoy ‘Nuremberg’, though I’d note it is more serviceable than special in how it is constructed. The positive elements start with Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Göring, which is powerful and quite understated for an actor who has often strayed away from subtler work in recent years. Carrying more weight and with a well-judged German accent, Crowe fully embodies the high-ranking Nazi, depicting him as a man who can be charismatic, controlling and manipulative, and the strongest parts of this film are in watching Göring and Kelley circle each other and trying to gain the upper hand. The psychological thrust centres on the relationship they build, and I enjoyed their scenes together, with Malek a good foil for Crowe.

Where it is on less assured footing is with some of the subplots surrounding Kelley, one involving a semi love interest (not helped by the actress playing the character feeling telegraphed in from a glossier period film, and not a drama about the horrors of the war), and one involving Göring’s family. I thought they undercut the tension in the Kelley/Göring scenes and contributed to a bloated 150-minute runtime, that isn’t entirely warranted. Aside from this part of the film, we also follow the activities in the background to set up the first ever international war crime trial, led by American Supreme Court associate justice Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), and I found these scenes interesting as well.

‘Nuremberg’ takes a good story and tells it well with a standout performance from Russell Crowe at its centre, though its lengthy runtime and some unnecessary diversions prevent it from being quite as powerful as it is aiming for.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: James Vanderbilt

Starring: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O’Brien, Colin Hanks, Wrenn Schmidt, Lydia Peckham, Richard E. Grant and Michael Shannon

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt29567915/