Nuremberg (2025) – Absorbing psychological true story

Genre – WW2 War Drama (based on true stories)

Time: 2 Hours 35 minutes

Platform: Theatrical release

Director: James Vanderbilt

Cast: Russell Crowe (Hermann Göring). Rami Malek (Dr. Douglas Kelley). Michael Shannon (Robert H. Jackson). Richard E. Grant (Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe). Leo Woodall (Sgt. Howie Triest). Colin Hanks (Dr. Gustav Gilbert). John Slattery (Colonel Burton C. Andrus).

Plot:  In the chaos of post world war 2 Germany, Hermann Goering, head of the Nazi Luftwaffe, and 2^nd in succession to Hitler is captured. Other surviving top Nazis too are captured. Pressure for a trial begins. The four Allied Powers, USA, UK, France and the USSR, form the International Military Tribunal to try the captured Nazis and to set a legal precedent so that in future such war crimes, such as those carried out by the Nazis, can be punished. Justice Robert Jackson slated to be the US Chief Justice, is appointed as the Public Prosecutor. He invites Army psychiatrist Dr. David Kelley, to check the physical and mental health of each captive and to determine whether the defendants can be put on trial. Soon Kelley forms a friendly relationship with Goering, while noting Goering’s strengths and weaknesses. Sergeant Howie is Kelley’s German interpreter but it is clear that Goering knows and understands English.  Jackson is repeatedly warned by Kelley not to underestimate Goering who will be a formidable opponent…

The challenge in filming any true-life story is how to make it interesting , since the historical result is already well known and make the film for an average audience, without being pedantically accurate, especially one that is not clued in to the major historical events of the 20^th century.  The events of World War 2 are a distant memory and four to five generations have come after that. Yet, when it is to do with Nazis and Nazism, more myths will abound and one has to be careful not to indulge in “creative fiction” .

In this case, the script is clever. As it introduces each Nazi who is  on trial, there is a brief clip with a voiceover that tells the audience the name of the Nazi, his position in the hierarchy and what he oversaw. The film mainly focuses on  Kelley and Goering’s growing friendship and verbal sparring.  Both form a working relationship and it is clear to Kelley that Goering was not the sybaritic fat buffoon made out by Allied propaganda but a clearly formidable intelligent adversary who can, and does, run rings around the prosecution.

Thus, thru the Kelley-Goering relationship, the film examines what happened to Germany , a cultured nation and especially Goering, an otherwise intelligent World War 1 ace, who shot down 22 Allied planes and was decorated with the pour le Merite (popularly known as The Blue Max), WW1 Germany’s highest decoration, followed a street thug and demagogue like Hitler.  What does seem “filmi” is Kelley going out of the way to interact with Goering’s wife Emmy and deliver letters between them, but that too is a true event.

So where does the film falter, if at all? It is in the preparatory “legal” scenes. We are not exactly sure whether this chap Jackson can be a good prosecutor. We are also not sure whether the legal experts from France and the USSR had anything to say on the matter, as we don’t see much of the French and Soviet Allies.

The script is focused only on Goring. He and the other Nazis on trial , pleaded not guilty to their “crimes’. Albert Speer, the Nazi Armaments Minister, is not shown among the defendants as he was the only one who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison. Except for Speer, all other high-ranking Nazis were hanged and this too is shown. Streicher crying and begging is completely different from the historical result as he was defiant till the end.

Why have I gone so much into the history behind the film? Simple. All the above (and more) is shown accurately and gives a sense of the overall drama that went into the Nuremberg Trial. This was drama that would even defy the most creative script writer. The script however remains true to the overall history with some minor digressions, that otherwise diverts our attention, such as Kelley forming a friendship with a female reporter, who in turn publishes whatever Kelley told her, resulting in his immediate transfer.

If Brian Cox ate the cast for breakfast in the 1996 TV movie Nuremberg, Russell Crowe as Goering dominates, in every sense of the word. Crowe’s girth (surely with some creative makeup) matches Goering’s girth while Goering’s cunning comes across in each and every scene. We feel that it is not Kelley who is interrogating Goering but the other way around. For once, Rami Malek comes thru as the psychiatrist Douglas Kelley called to evaluate the Nazis. He is a far cry from his ‘blank stare mumble mumble  self” in other movies that I have seen and explores all aspects of Kelley, right down to Kelley’s final self-destructive moments.

This is a great absorbing dramatic film with some terrific psychological sparring between the two lead characters.  The Budapest locations and the production design are excellent and stand out. Watch it before it gets pulled from the theaters. With the world now in the throes of a new far right regime everywhere , what happened a 100 years ago that saw the rise of demagogues and the evil they unleashed, is more relevant now. 

Historical Background – 5 out of 5

Script – 5 out of 5

Direction – 4 out of 5

Photography – 4 out of 5

Production design – 5 out of 5

Total – 4.6 out of 5