Director Robert Zemeckis gives us some breathtaking moments in "Allied" from 2015. The film stars Brad Pitt and Marian Cotillard as Max and Marianne, two spies who meet on a joint assignment in France and fall in love. Mission accomplished, Max proposes. She is allowed to come to England and marry him, and they have a beautiful daughter.
One day Max's bosses call him in and say that they believe Marianne took the name of an executed resistance worker and is, in fact, a German spy. They order him to write down a fake message he will be given by phone, and if it shows up in transmissions the following Monday, they will know the truth. Then he must execute her. Max, however, has no intention of waiting until Monday to find out.
By no means is this a perfect film and yes, some parts are easy to guess. When you've seen 5000 films or more, it's not hard to know what's going to happen after certain scenes. The script could have been a little more interesting. I certainly didn't find it sentimental and goopy as someone described it. And what the heck is wrong with sentiment anyway? It was not, to me, overdone.
If I am being honest, I think the problem lay with the casting of Brad Pitt. He's a real honest-to-God movie star as they had in the old Hollywood, and I love him. But this is a role that should have been played by someone like Jason Isaacs or Tom Hardy or Tom Hiddleston. Pitt does not bring to the character the layers and depth which would have made this a richer film. He has the stoicism but little else. Also I found his face distracting - he's had injections in the bottom part of his face and it looks different.
Cotillard, on the other hand, gives a brilliant performance of an expert spy who falls in love with her temporary partner, sending her life into another trajectory.
Someone pointed out some modernizations that were off-putting. One was Max's sister as an out lesbian - highly doubtful in those days in England. The one I caught was the phrase "take it outside." It was like the Amelia Earhart movie with Diane Keaton where she says "cut the crap." Are these screenwriters kidding? A little more care needs to be taken when dealing with period pieces.
The special effects were fantastic and brought home the idea of how close in proximity the war was to the British people. The scene with the ambassador was excellent; but my favorite scene was the one in the desert with the car. Beautiful.
I recommend it. I thought it was well done and well acted, exciting in parts, and also poignant. To young people I say - don't be hardened to sentimentality at your age.
One day Max's bosses call him in and say that they believe Marianne took the name of an executed resistance worker and is, in fact, a German spy. They order him to write down a fake message he will be given by phone, and if it shows up in transmissions the following Monday, they will know the truth. Then he must execute her. Max, however, has no intention of waiting until Monday to find out.
By no means is this a perfect film and yes, some parts are easy to guess. When you've seen 5000 films or more, it's not hard to know what's going to happen after certain scenes. The script could have been a little more interesting. I certainly didn't find it sentimental and goopy as someone described it. And what the heck is wrong with sentiment anyway? It was not, to me, overdone.
If I am being honest, I think the problem lay with the casting of Brad Pitt. He's a real honest-to-God movie star as they had in the old Hollywood, and I love him. But this is a role that should have been played by someone like Jason Isaacs or Tom Hardy or Tom Hiddleston. Pitt does not bring to the character the layers and depth which would have made this a richer film. He has the stoicism but little else. Also I found his face distracting - he's had injections in the bottom part of his face and it looks different.
Cotillard, on the other hand, gives a brilliant performance of an expert spy who falls in love with her temporary partner, sending her life into another trajectory.
Someone pointed out some modernizations that were off-putting. One was Max's sister as an out lesbian - highly doubtful in those days in England. The one I caught was the phrase "take it outside." It was like the Amelia Earhart movie with Diane Keaton where she says "cut the crap." Are these screenwriters kidding? A little more care needs to be taken when dealing with period pieces.
The special effects were fantastic and brought home the idea of how close in proximity the war was to the British people. The scene with the ambassador was excellent; but my favorite scene was the one in the desert with the car. Beautiful.
I recommend it. I thought it was well done and well acted, exciting in parts, and also poignant. To young people I say - don't be hardened to sentimentality at your age.