Have you ever watched one of those classic Hollywood noirs from the 40s and thought, "wow, no one makes 'em like this anymore"? Well, the dynamic duo of George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh aim to prove you wrong with "The Good German", a throwback to those stark black-and-white classics with all the ingredients in place: murder, betrayal, and a deeply cynical worldview, all set against the backdrop of post-WWII Berlin. But while the "Good German" is a valiant effort to inject some old Hollywood style into awards season, the film never quite adds up to more that the sum of its beautifully photographed parts.
"German" opens just as the war has ended. Correspondent Jake Geismer (Mr. Clooney, looking great in uniform) is sent back to Berlin to cover the Potsdam Peace Conference. Once there, he immediately becomes embroiled in intrigue involving his driver Tully (Tobey Maguire, dialing up his inner weasel), who has started up a relationship with his old flame Lena (Cate Blanchett, looking ravishingly angular in black & white). Is Jake a patsy? Is Lena still in love with him? Will Tully double-cross them both? You can see the filmmakers setting all this up like so many placards flashing across a newsreel.
But despite the classic setting, "German" still has very visible modern roots. For one thing, the story is told via shifting points-of-view. Each character takes a voice-over in turn. And, since this is a 2006 film, the filmmakers are free to amp up the profanity and violence to an almost jarring degree. But it's the modern acting that hurts the film most. You have but to watch a few seconds of classics like "The Maltese Falcon" or "Double Indemnity" to see the difference in dialogue back then. I would love to have seen Mr. Clooney put on his best Bogart, or to see Mr. Maguire play the Peter Lorre role. That might be too much to ask, but the film's dialogue plops when it should fizz and the ending peters out when it should sizzle. The screenplay by Paul Attanasio from the novel by Joseph Kanon just isn't that interesting, and the script never clearly sets the politics of the film like, say, "Casablanca" did in its opening five minutes.
But as usual, it's Cate Blanchett that steals the show. With a Meryl Streep-worthy accent, her Lena Brandt is the most fatale femme fatale I've seen in years; a woman who oozes a visceral combination of passion and danger with every glance. Mr. Soderbergh is clearly as in love with her performance as the audience is sure to be: he constantly films her entering into frame from shadow to light. George Clooney has always been a modern day Cary Grant and in "German" he finds a perfect outlet for his easy charm. His Jake Geismer is a classic noir hero; "wrong every step of the way," as he's constantly reminded.
The director and cast are not the only ones having a ball. The costumes and production design are spot-on - especially considering the seamless use of stock footage. Also, the wonderful score by Thomas Newman evokes those 40s melodramas with pitch-perfect authenticity.
"The Good German" is a wonderful experiment, but it never stands on its own like the similarly-filmed
"Good Night, and Good Luck" (Mr. Clooney used the same technique of transferring color film to black-and-white for that sophomore directorial effort). "German" may not be a classic noir, but it's a loving tribute to a time when movies were more than heroes, villains and blockbusters. Mr. Clooney and Mr. Soderbergh are welcome to try to bring back this genre anytime.
