Operation Valkyrie a No Go
Nothing quite rings in the holidays like a war story, ripe with high treason and brutal execution. In case you were feeling lonely this winter, Valkyrie does its best to make you feel just a little bit more depressed, retelling the hostile, true story of the attempted murder of the Fuhrer, Adolph Hitler. While we aren’t certain how accurate the historical narrative is, we are certain that the story thrown our way won’t exactly make us reminisce of our childhood memories leaving cookies out for Santa. Valkyrie almost manages to overcome some timing flaws with its Christmas release date, delivering at times a suspenseful drama with some good performances by a talented cast. But in the end, the operation just isn’t enough to keep us longing for more.
A group of German officers, all entrusted within Hitler’s inner circle launch a plot to assassinate Hitler. Attempting to seize power of the military command to end the war, “Operation Valkyrie” is launched to try and save Germany. The emergency plan that was meant to be used in case of a revolt against the Nazi government is now a plot to remove Germany’s Fuhrer. Cruise plays the role of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the man put in charge of the assault to remove Adolph Hitler. The film begins with high ambitions to end the war in order for sacred Germany to emerge from the Germany that Hitler has created. For a film that is based on one of the most historical events in German history, a film that also portrays characters that are meant to be German, oddly enough, no one speaks German throughout the film. For those that may call themselves nitpickers when it comes to the authenticity of a film, there would be your first nit. Cruise’s first line of dialogue is in German, lasting about 15 seconds until it fades into the same dialect he spoke in Days of Thunder. It’s almost as if the film tries to show that Cruise gave German lessons a try for a week, learned a couple of sentences and then kind of gave up. For everyone of us that took piano lessons as a kid and hated it, we can sympathize with Cruise on this one. For all of us that want an authentic world within a film and feel removed from it because the most prominent German speaker in the history of Germany, Adolph Hitler, is speaking the same English that you and I speak today, prepare to feel disappointed.
Valkyrie gives us a brief insight into Cruise’s character’s family life, showing us that he has kids and a beautiful wife, but never really allows us to feel a close enough relationship to where we realize the literal life and death stakes of the mission to overtake Hitler. Again, this is another place where the film falls flat. Valkyrie brings together a great cast of talented actors, all giving believable performances. Despite the strong cast, there’s no solid relationship between characters that draws us in. The film introduces us to the important task of removing Hitler, and installing a sacred Germany, but we never quite understand how bad the lives of the characters are while trying to remove Hitler, nor do we know anything of this sacred Germany of which von Stauffenberg risks his life. The film’s premise is therefore simple: Kill Hitler or be killed. Enough to draw us into the film I suppose, but not diverse enough for our imaginations to have a lot of fun.
The film’s greatest strength is its story line. The Hitler assassination plot wasn’t exactly the first lesson in Ms. Brown’s 5th grade history class. Since many of us probably had no clue about the Hitler assassination plot, its relatively easy for us to get drawn into the fascination of an act to assassinate one of the most infamous figures in World History. Valkyrie does a good job of escorting the plot along, using the literal life and death stakes of the assassination plot, as both the internal and external conflict fueling the characters. A strength of the film is the fact that no character ever feels too big. Tom cruise, despite his persona outside of film, never overacts to steal the spotlight. Tom Wilkinson also gives a strong performance as the leader of the German Army, General Fromm. Fromm must face the complexities of choosing between German allegiance and ethical virtue, a role that personifies many of the characters throughout the film.
Valkyrie is in a difficult position given its odd release timing. While we appreciate the motion to hear the film progress in our native tongue, it loses a lot of credibility by portraying Nazi soldiers with English speakers. For the hardcore war historians that know of the “Valkyrie assassination plot,” the film probably would have been better told in a German world, and this trait alone could ruin the movie. Despite this, Valyrie will appeal to those who find any war story riveting because of the stakes of its outcomes and its impact on the way the world is shaped today. Overall, it’s one movie that will engage those looking for an alternative to Marley and Me, but will fall short of ending up on most people’s Christmas list.
