A suspense thriller with a sense of history

Film review: Valkyrie

I understand why much is being made out of Tom Cruise’ American accent in Valkyrie. It can be initially disconcerting. Just think, the setting is a battle scene in Tunisia. You hear him speak. He sounds very American. You expect a G.I. to loom into view. Instead you get Cruise in the uniform of a German officer in World War II.

I know this must be because we have seen too many films about the period and now keep a template in our heads. Photography must be in black and white. Schindler’s List. So are the characters. White are the GIs who are mostly young boys looking like Private Ryan with accents like Cruise’s. Black is for the villains. Bad Nazis. Bad Japs. They seesaw between coarse as soldiers or cultured as officers, all always with foreign accents.

Cruise is playing German Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg, a young, charismatic officer from a noble family who attempted to kill Adolf Hitler. The template says he should have an accent, German or at the very least upper crust European. But would anybody have taken Cruise seriously had he spoken English with a German accent? No way. It would have sounded downright ridiculous.

So I say accept the accent and get the problem out of the way. Director Bryan Singer was right in not having a uniform German accent for his characters. They are not speaking German after all, just English. Do that and you can settle down to truly enjoy Valkyrie. It is a good suspense thriller that whets one’s appetite for history and makes for enjoyable viewing.

According to Norse mythology, the valkyrie are lesser gods who decide who will die in battle. They then guide those killed heroically to eternal life in Valhalla. Operation Valkyrie was what Hitler titled a national emergency plan he established. It will be set in motion in case he is incapacitated or killed. A group of rebel officers that included Stauffenberg planned to use this system to take over Germany.

We all know they failed. The conspirators, including Stauffenberg died by firing squad. Hitler committed suicide months later. With givens such as these, Singer was forced to work within a tight framework. There is a definite beginning and end everybody already knew about. There is also a strict timeline in between plus only a few minutes to expose and develop several important characters.

It is a difficult job but Singer is up to the task. Remember he cleverly juggled characters in a complicated plot in The Usual Suspects. He is also known for bringing comicbooks such as X-Men and Superman to vivid life. With these as pegs instead of old World War II movies, he made Valkyrie into a compelling piece with striking visuals and outstanding performances.

Who needs correct accents when you have an ensemble of actors that includes the likes of Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Branagh and even comedian Eddie Izzard in a surprising serious turn. They plot. They vacillate. They create tension with the slightest of gestures or just by being on the screen in those well-pressed uniforms.

At the center of everything is of course Tom Cruise. He is a big movie star. Like most of them, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, etc., he seems to have this desire to be taken seriously as an actor and perhaps win an Oscar. Remember Born on the Fourth of July? I thought he was screaming “Oscar, Oscar” throughout the film. War of the Worlds was even worse because it was drama and action and had Spielberg as director. Cruise had one eye on the box-office, another on the acting award and the center of his face in intense mode throughout.

Cruise though is actually a good actor when he disregards his Oscar cravings. I still find Risky Business, Top Gun and Magnolia great fun. He was over the top in Tropic Thunder and a generous star who relaxed and allowed Cuba Gooding to shine in Jerry MaGuire. I have always believed that if a director can get Cruise to relax and not grit his teeth, he would shine brightly in even the heaviest of roles.

This finally happened in Valkyrie. Von Stauffenberg is a heavy role. The only Nazi soldier with a monument in Germany, he was 36 and Chief of Staff of the General Army Office when he became disillusioned with the Third Reich. He believed Hitler must be stopped and if necessary killed to put a halt to all atrocities.

Opportunities to ham up are plenty but Cruise is restraint personified throughout. He so embodies the heroism of Stauffenberg, you forget you are watching Tom Cruise. No impossible stunts. No one liners. No hair falling at just the right angle across his forehead. No big grin to show off the perfect teeth or a teary-eyed stare for dramatic effect. It is just one solid performance that totally blends with the rest of the cast and connects with the audience.