Forget the love-struck Scientologist ― for a couple of hours at least. In “Valkyrie,” Tom Cruise casts off his notoriety and even the Hollywood action star glitz of his better days as a serious, likeable hero rising against Hitler.
This is not another Tinseltown World War II flick. Perhaps the only commonality the film shares with its predecessors is the finely crafted music (though not including Wagner’s namesake opera). It also opts for distinct visuals, and the color palette stays away from the usual shocking red sea of Nazi banners. The effect is stark and simple yet effective, like the narrative itself.
“The Usual Suspects” partners Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie reconstruct past events into a gripping, modern classic, and not even the potpourri of American, British and German tongues mars its incredible believability.
“Adolf Hitler is dead.” On July 20, 1944, the Fuhrer’s life is threatened by another assassination plot. In trust is treason, however: the perpetrators are none other than high-ranking German officers who want to “show the world that not all Germans are like Hitler.”
Cruise loses an eye, a hand and two fingers as the patriotic Col. von Stauffenberg, who is troubled by Hitler’s dictatorship. He joins a secret group of military men and civilians who are scheming to stage a coup to overthrow the government and save Germany and Europe.
Von Stauffenberg ingeniously plots to utilize Operation Valkyrie, Hitler’s back up plan for the Reserve Army to protect the Nazi regime against serious threats (such as his death). Little did the Fuhrer know that his Chief of Staff von Stauffenberg and Gen. Olbricht were slowly turning the safety blanket into an elaborate coup. These inside men orchestrate the perfect plan made complete with planting bombs in the heart of Nazi headquarters.
Cruise stands at the center of the story and serves as the emotional plug for the viewer. He is the quintessential hero who lightly leaps over moral dilemmas and physical disabilities, made all the more amiable as the loving husband and father. This traditional formula works without feeling too cliched, as the film displays top British talent, including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Terence Stamp and Eddie Izzard, who also add depth to the characters.
A character-propelled narrative is the film’s forte, and as such, the tightrope-walking suspense lies in the power of individual choice and action, both big and small. Tension lurks in tasteful measures: fleeting glances become purposeful and mundane events like shaving one’s beard grow unnerving.
History shows that Operation Valkyrie failed miserably. The high points of suspense lie thus in the careful planning of the assassination. Nevertheless, even the sense of doom and futility that permeates the latter half tactically draws the audience into the film and its characters. As von Stauffenberg, oblivious of Hitler’s survival, pushes on with the failed plan, the audience can watch in awe as small choices and actions move an entire city back and forth.
The only regret perhaps is that von Stauffenberg’s wife, who passed away in 2006, did not survive to see the movie honoring her late husband.
(Source: Korea Times)
