Director: George Clooney.
Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville.
 |
| Disposing of bodies is never easy. |
The story goes that when Churchill was asked whether England should cut its arts funding to boost the war effort during WWII, the prime minister responded; "Then what are we fighting for?".
It's a shame Churchill didn't actually say it (no one did - it's a total fabrication) as it would have been a perfect line for this based-on-fact tale of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program run by the Allied forces.
The team - seven people here, but about 400 service members and civilians in reality - was tasked with venturing into the warzone to recover artworks stolen by the Nazis during their invasion of Europe.
Led by Frank Stokes (Clooney), the hodge-podge squad of art experts go through basic training before heading to the frontline to reclaim such artefacts as the Ghent altarpiece and Michaelangelo's Madonna of Bruges.
But these raiders of the lost art are racing against Hitler's "Nero decree", which sees his troops burn and destroy any works they can't take with them as they retreat, and the rapidly advancing Russian army, who are seeking to claim the pieces as war reparations.
As subject matter, it's brilliant. And look at that cast - buddies Clooney and Damon in their sixth film together, Oscar winners Dujardin and Blanchett in side roles, and much-loved comedy actors Goodman, Murray and Balaban. What could possibly go wrong?
The answer is the script, written by director-star Clooney and co-producer Grant Heslov. After a very clumsy start that introduces the characters without really letting us know them, the film wanders around without focus - the task facing the Monument Men is so broad that there is a lack of tension and drama, despite this being set in the middle of WWII.
Perhaps it's fitting, this wandering plot, as that's what the characters are doing. They're traipsing around war-torn Europe, unsure what they're looking for and unsure where to look for it. But as interesting as this might have been in Robert Edsel's source book, it makes for a far-from-compelling narrative here. It's an approach that's more scattershot than sniper rifle, and the resulting episodic nature doesn't excite.
The Monuments Men comes to life when Blanchett is on the screen as a French museum curator forced to work for the Nazis. It adds a sense of peril and her character is more layered, adding some much needed spark and depth to the film. And whereas the rest of the cast is in varying degrees of cruise control (particularly Murray and Clooney), Blanchett thrives in an admittedly meatier role.
Bonneville is also good as a down-on-his-luck Brit brought onto the team by Stokes, but the cast feels predominantly under-used with their characters underdeveloped. Murray's trademark deadpan and Goodman's usual bluster have been comedic gold in the past, but here so much potential evaporates between infrequent laughs.
Obviously, the subject matter is not a laughing matter, and Clooney devotes a lot of time and a fair bit of repetition to the film's central questions - "is saving art worth losing lives?" and "why is art important?". But with his selected cast (handpicked by Clooney, with each character written with each actor in mind), the film's predominantly light and airy tone, and the likeability of its characters and actors, it seems there is a missed opportunity to create a comedy or dramedy with a message.
Things pick up in the final 15 minutes when the plot finds its focus and the stakes are raised and you can't help but wish the rest of the film had that attitude, instead of just drifting by on Clooney's charm.
The Monuments Men is certainly not terrible and is in fact sporadically enjoyable - it's just disappointing that such a great cast and a wonderful fact-based men-on-a-mission story falls short of its potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment