NUREMBERG is the most Oscar-bait film of the Award season, and will garner zero nominations. Let’s run down the list of qualifiers and how NUREMBERG fits them:
Qualifier 1: It contains a serious or tragic subject matter.
NUREMBERG does its best through psychology to showcase that the Nazis were not monsters; they were human. This is personified through Russel Crowe’s fantastic performance as Hermann Göring, one of the highest-ranking officers in Hitler’s regime.
Qualifier 2: It’s set in a biographical or historical setting
The film is based on the most famous international trial ever – The Nuremberg Trials. So this 100% checks this box.
Qualifier 3: It should have an acclaimed cast and director
Who wouldn’t love this cast?
- Russel Crowe with a German accent
- Michael Shannon plays a stoic, flawed leader role as Justice Jackson
- Rami Malek as the famed alcoholic shrink, Douglas Kelly
- Legendary Richard E. Grant as Sir Maxwell-Fyfe
- Roger Sterling… I mean, John Slattery in a throwaway role as Colonel Andrus
Elsewhere, the writer/director, James Vanderbilt, is the writer behind THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and ZODIAC.
Qualifier 4: Overly emotional or sentimental tone
The film takes a leisurely pace as it sets up a shockingly emotional reveal of how the Nazis discarded millions of Jewish people’s bodies. Elsewhere, there are several monologues in which characters get teary-eyed and deliver pep talks to inspire others to do what’s right.
Qualifier 5: Focuses on the performances
The reason to see this movie is an emotional shouting match between Crowe and Malek, in which the two men go head-to-head over conflicting values. It’s the clip audiences usually see when a performer is nominated.
Qualifier 6: High production value
Despite NUREMBERG not being a great movie, it has some of the best production value of the year, which will trick audiences into thinking it’s good. It’s over-produced in that sense where everything looks, sounds, and feels flawless. From the camerawork, costumes, and score – it’s just too neat.
********************
Final Thought: NUREMBERG’s message about nazis not being monsters, and being human, is a relevant theme for what’s happening globally today. It’s in the film’s delivery where it gets lost. Buried beneath this Oscar-bait film is an excellent Russel Crowe performance and a powerful message. Audiences will have to slog through 2.5 hours to get to.
It’s currently playing in theaters.
