There are countless variations of the saying “history repeats itself.” One that fits the intent of James Vanderbilt’s film Nuremberg is: “History continually repeats itself, but we have short attention spans.”
Nuremberg wants us to remember.
The story revisits the final days of World War II and the Nuremberg trials. The studio describes the film as the story of the psychiatrist who evaluated members of the Nazi high command before the trials. But what unfolds on screen is the story of how that psychiatrist develops an obsessive bond with Hermann Göring— a connection that ultimately leads to his undoing.
The movie begins with Göring attempting to flee at the end of the war before being captured by Allied forces. We see him, along with other leading figures from Hitler’s inner circle, taken into custody. Douglas Kelly, played by Rami Malek, is brought in to create psychological profiles of these men.
In the background is the effort of Justice Robert Jackson, played by Michael Shannon, who believes these men must stand trial for their crimes. He argues that they should not simply be executed. There must also be a public accounting for the horrors carried out in the name of the Third Reich.
This dual focus is one of the film’s weaknesses. The constant shifting between the legal preparation and the personal relationship between Kelly and Göring creates a mish-mash narrative. The filmmakers clearly want to tell the story of Kelly and Göring, but the movie keeps wandering away from it.
Russell Crowe’s Göring is charming to the point of being almost disarming. But it doesn’t take long to see the evil beneath that charisma. He expresses great love for his wife and daughter, which he uses to manipulate Kelly into delivering letters to them.
We watch the two men talk and probe one another. Kelly is writing a book about what he is learning from Göring and the others. His questions cut to the heart of how such atrocities came to be.
When Kelly asks why he followed Hitler, Göring describes a devastated Germany after World War I, a nation humiliated and made to suffer. Hitler told them that foreign powers were feasting on their pain and promised that Germany could reclaim its former glory. He made them feel proud again.
Kelly’s obsession with Göring becomes his downfall, costing him his position, but not before Göring is put on trial. We watch Göring skillfully maneuver through Jackson’s questioning. Despite its flaws, there is something worthwhile in Vanderbilt’s attempt.
Kelly eventually wrote his book. It revealed that what occurred in Germany could happen anywhere. The perpetrators of Nazi crimes were ordinary people who embraced a message that told them walking over the bodies of others was worth obtaining power.
That aspect of the film is its most compelling. Göring’s words sound like those we are hearing today— as certain leaders feed us their narratives and push us to create scapegoats.
I cannot highly recommend Nuremberg. It loses focus and includes elements that distract from the central story. But it does work as a cautionary tale.
Directed by James Vanderbilt
Written by James Vanderbilt and Jack El-Hai
Rated PG-13 for violent and disturbing images, including real footage from the concentration camps.
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Pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is married and has two boys. His love is for movies, and he can be found in a theater most Fridays.