To maintain interest, however, the feature film focuses on the ambiguous relationship between Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) and Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe).
Charismatic, the sinister Reichsmarschall and Hitler's right-hand man seeks to manipulate the American army's shrink. If Kelley sees him as a vain narcissist, he nevertheless feels a form of sympathy...
Based on the book by Jack El-Hai, The Nazi and the psychiatrist, Nuremberg focuses on this relationship in the first half before switching into a conventional trial film. We can still discover its protagonists: Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon, monolithic), attorney general of the United States who will become a judge of the Supreme Court, and Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe (Richard E. Grant), his British equivalent.
James Vanderbilt has a successful career as a screenwriter, notably Zodiac et The Extraordinary Spider-Man. He only has one production under his belt (Truth: The price of truth2015).
Which explains its laborious production, which lacks breath and inspiration. What's more, its storyline remains too superficial in its exploration of Evil in "ordinary" man - a paradox given that its main character is a psychiatrist. We are far from the masterful The area of interest (2023) by Jonathan Glazer.
Fortunately, Nuremberg can count on Crowe. The New Zealand actor won an Oscar for Gladiator (2001) delivers one of his best interpretations (the German accent avoids caricature).
Beneath the chilling mask of the torturer, he lets a hint of humanity shine through.
And there is also the material of the story – Vanderbilt also judiciously uses some archive sequences.
History teaches us that we learn nothing from History. In this sense, Nuremberg can do useful work.
Because, remember, after the Shoah, we said: “never again”. However, there was Rwanda, Sudan, Gaza… This dive revives an era that some prefer to forget. Or even deny it.
The projection of archive images of the horror of the concentration camps during the trial brings a lump in our throats – a strong moment spoiled, however, by tearful reaction shots of the protagonists. A sensational process which is akin to the exploitation of the victims.
That said, Nuremberg also sends us a warning, through psychiatrist Douglas Kelley. Other men will come and they will not put on uniforms. The current rise of neo-fascism, right on our doorstep, clearly demonstrates this.
Hollywood has already taken an interest in the Nuremberg trials. Stanley Kramer (Guess who’s coming to dinner…), among others, won two Oscars with Judgment at Nuremberg in 1962.
The story stutters, even in the cinema…
Nuremberg is presented in the cinema.
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