February 8, 2008
I was not sure what to expect of this movie, other than knowing it was long, which I tend to dread inherently, because I do force myself through every movie (OK, so sometimes I'll wander off and do other things and basically ignore it, but still) and being stuck with a lame movie...( read more) for three hours would be pretty rough.
Christian Diestl (Marlon Brando) is a German in 1938, first seen instructing Margaret Freemantle (Barbara Rush) in the art of skiing in the Bavarian Alps, there the two attend a party and Margaret is discomforted by the appearance of Nazi patriotism and leaves the area, Christian following to explain to her his own feelings on the matter--Hitler promises to bring prosperity to Germany, and for this Christian supports him. Margaret is not able to accept this and the two part ways, leaving us next to find World War II "officially" starting. Now we see Michael Whiteacre (Dean Martin), a Broadway star, having his physical status established for the draft. They tell him that despite his coming play commitments, he is 1-A and will need to report for duty in a few months. Michael is not happy about this and, in the process of writing a letter to argue his case, finds himself asking one Noah Ackerman (that's Montgomery Clift, honey!*), also in line to determine draft status, for the spelling of "extenuating." When Ackerman is unable to supply him with a spelling, Michael feels he has found a kindred spirit and invites Ackerman to join him for a party and alcohol. Here we find that Michael is the new, long-time beau of Margaret (yes, last seen with Christian) and Ackerman finds Hope Plowman (Hope Lange), a young woman who does find it in herself to give him the time of day. When he impulsively kisses her, she rejects him, feeling he is brash and arrogant, but he explains that he only feared his true nature would never appeal to her--he, Jewish and a lowly department store clerk. He meets her father and agrees to a marriage between the two just prior to Ackerman and Michael leaving for the war--Michael arguing constantly with Margaret, who understands that he is deathly afraid of combat, but wants him to face his duty all the same, though she sees no shame in the fear itself.
Meanwhile, Christian has been moving up through the German ranks, now a Lieutenant, and he begins to find himself confronted with the nature of the Nazi party, its military, its policies and its approach to life. He sees his fellow Germans as being corrupted, the French girl, Françoise (Liliane Montevecchi), saying so more forcefully until she speaks with Christian in private, where he discusses his naïve and idealistic view of war. He sees Germany as attempting to unite--not conquer as Françoise suggests--Europe, this leading to a lasting peace, which is what he truly craves. He feels that lives, up to and including his own, may indeed need to be sacrificed to achieve this goal, but that that peace will be worth the sacrifice and effort involved.
The reason for the length of the film becomes obvious rapidly. These are not constantly interconnected stories, though they do cross paths once in a while. Whiteacre and Ackerman, certainly, form a bond being in the same unit and are often brought into a conflict of sorts, but even there there's a clear emotional division between the two. Ackerman is treated poorly by their commanding officer, who turns the entire unit against him, leaving him to fend for himself and his pride against bigger, stronger men. Whiteacre insists--as do some of those men--that Ackerman should back down and accept the way things are, but Ackerman insists, and the two must deal with this under a CO who will not let either escape it without ramifications. But Christian's story is entirely separate. Director Edward Dmytryk (whose only other work I've seen is the Chandler adaptation Murder, My Sweet--which earned Chandler's own approval) manages to bring these stories together all the same. Most of the time, this is not done with plotting but thematically. We see the flaws and vices and truths and strengths of either side, clearly manifesting the reality of the fact that either side contained people, and that any people can be corrupted, changed or fooled, as Christian is, or mistreated as Ackerman is, regardless of who and where they are. It ends up a strangely subdued piece on the whole, with spacious dialogue finally escaping film's earlier theatrical roots, but without the stage-y bombast they often felt the need to compensate with. The performances are uniformly excellent, but rarely rise above a certain emotional point in terms of outbursts and the like, adding an interesting sense of realism and sympathy to the events we watch unfold.
While it ends up a bit long in a way, it's strange in that it does not feel like any of the time was wasted despite that fact, with characters consistently engaging and events consistently important. Perhaps this is the result of trying to cram more than the usual expected amount of a novel into a film--it begins to bloat, even if all the fat is trimmed.
*...Sorry.
Share This Review
