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Studious rather than inspired, Nuremberg is nevertheless an informative and watchable fictionalised account of the trial of Hitler’s second-in-command, Hermann Göring. Events are seen through the eyes of Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), the US Army psychiatrist assigned to assess and safeguard the mental condition of Göring (Russell Crowe) and other accused Nazis before the hearings. A cat-and-mouse game ensues between Göring and the canny doctor, each managing to cast a certain spell on the other through their manipulation of the psychiatrist-patient relationship.
Nuremberg is written and directed by James Vanderbilt (whose writing credits include David Fincher’s Zodiac), his script here drawing on Jack El-Hai’s non-fiction book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist. It is hard to know how much free rein Vanderbilt gives himself with the facts, but Nuremberg certainly conveys a general impression of due diligence, notwithstanding some absurdities — such as amateur magician Kelley’s extravagant flirting with a young Englishwoman on a train. Vanderbilt can also be shameless in his dramatic flourishes, as in the scene where American prosecutor Robert Jackson (Michael Shannon) gets one over on Pope Pius XII.
While Malek’s characteristic mannered weirdness can be distracting, a soberly downplayed Crowe is altogether compelling as Göring, whose suave affability only thinly masks his narcissistic arrogance and contempt for humanity. There is also strong support from John Slattery and Richard E Grant, while Shannon makes a righteous monolith of moral authority. And Leo Woodall rather steals the show as a young American sergeant holding on to a key personal revelation until the eleventh hour.
Just to remind us of the story’s continuing relevance, Nuremberg ends with a warning, timely if heavy-handed, that fascists are still fascists even if they’re not wearing “scary uniforms”. The very epitome of traditional awards season material, Nuremberg is intelligent, serious-minded, impeccably honourable stuff — even if, as filmmaking, it’s as stodgy as a Bavarian dumpling.
★★★☆☆
In US cinemas now and UK cinemas from November 14
