Russell Crowe and Rami Malek Star in stark Depiction of Nuremberg Trials in New Film
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Russell Crowe and Rami Malek lead the cast of “Nuremberg,” a new drama examining the complexities of the post-World War II trials of Nazi leaders.the film, released Friday by sony Pictures Classics, offers a sober look at the psychological assessments conducted on the defendants, challenging conventional understandings of evil and raising unsettling questions about the potential for similar ideologies to take root elsewhere.
The film centers on psychiatrist Leon Kelley (Malek), brought in by U.S. Chief Prosecutor Robert Jackson to assess the mental states of the accused, including Hermann Göring (Crowe). alongside Malek and Crowe, the cast includes Sir David maxwell-Fyfe portrayed by John Slattery, Colin Hanks as psychiatrist Gustave Gilbert, and Leo Woodall as a German-speaking U.S. officer. “Nuremberg” arrives at a time of rising global concerns about extremism and ancient revisionism, prompting renewed reflection on the lessons of the Holocaust and the fragility of democratic institutions.
The film distinguishes itself by focusing on the internal struggles of Kelley,who grapples with the unsettling realization that the Nazi leaders were not monstrous aberrations,but disturbingly ordinary individuals. Kelley’s eventual disillusionment and a late-film reveal concerning Sgt. Howie Triest, a German Jewish emigre, motivate him to assist Jackson and the legal team in securing a conviction against Göring.
However, the review notes the film occasionally falls into courtroom drama tropes, culminating in a “rousing but hollow” victory that clashes with the film’s broader message about the limited nature of justice and the inevitability of death. The most impactful moments, according to the review, are the 80-year-old archival footage from Nazi concentration camps shown during the actual Nuremberg trials.
Kelley later documented his experiences in the book “22 Cells in Nuremberg,” where he warned that ”there is little in America today which could prevent the establishment of a Nazi-like state.” “Nuremberg” is rated PG-13 for Holocaust content, language, violent content, smoking, brief drug content, disturbing images, and suicide. The film runs 148 minutes and has received a rating of two and a half stars out of four.
