While Steven Soderbergh may be no Michael Curtiz (not with this picture, anyway), The Good German nevertheless succeeds as an examination of the tangled loyalties and deep-seated corruption in post-war Germany. While George Clooney is somewhat ineffectual (perhaps deliberately so) in the lead, Cate Blanchett delivers a haunting performance as a woman deeply scarred by the atrocities she has witnessed (and in some cases, participated in). Some have criticized Soderbergh for an overly clinical approach to the film’s subject matter, but given the ruins of the city and lives onscreen before us, his choices here seem fitting. Despite a poster and a closing scene that directly reference Casablanca, this is no love story.
by Beth Gilligan | Source: Warner Bros 35mm print
16 Jan 2007 9:38 PM | Submit Comment
