Allied – movie review

One of several recent movies that play on nostalgia, Allied is a kind of Casablanca-lite for the undemanding viewer. Of course, director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) is an old hand at this type of film, but no amount of direction could have saved this film from its clunky – and at times incomprehensible – script. Of course, the movie has a certain sensationalist pop-culture relevance for its alleged role in the Brangelina bust-up; but as a film, there are far better options available to you at this time of year.

The film opens in Casablanca (how’s that for obvious) where Canadian SAS officer Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) is parachuted in to assist in a daring assassination plot being planned by French Resistance operative Marianne Beauséjour (Marion Cotillard). The plan is to assassinate the German ambassador in Casablanca; but that seemingly simple outcome requires considerable planning and more than a little subterfuge. Together, Max and Marianne must navigate both the ever-watchful Germans and Marianne’s coterie of friends by a series of ruses, including having Max pose as Marianne’s husband, newly arrived from Paris. The dangerous scenario forces the pair to work together to such an extent that the fake relationship between them soon becomes all too real. But when the mission is over, can their love survive the perils of war?

The script from Steven Knight (who penned the recent Bradley Cooper vehicle Burnt) essentially carves the movie in two; with the first half set in Morocco and the second half in England. It similarly carves the film’s themes in two – trying to juggle both a spy drama and a dramatic love story.  Trouble is, only one “half” works. The opening stanza in Morocco, for all its historical inaccuracy, is tense, well staged and engaging. The second is ponderous and lumbering. While the love story kind of works (at least in the first section), the spy drama as it unfolds in the second half is frankly just plain dumb. The “twist” delivered by Simon McBurney as a shadowy SOE operative is so preposterous, it’s simply impossible to accept. Just to be clear: It. Makes. No. Sense! From that point on, the film spirals out of control into a morass of stupidity and overwrought sentimentality from which it never recovers.

Zemeckis isn’t exactly known as a subtle director, and he continues that tradition here. The old rule of “show, don’t tell” is routinely ignored as Zemeckis bludgeons the audience over the head. There’s a lot of exposition, but not a lot of revelation. And the film’s climax is laid on far too thickly to retain any semblance of credibility.

On the plus side, Gary Freeman’s production design sets the scene nicely even if it’s not 100% historically accurate, and Joanna Johnston’s costume design (particularly in the first section) is quite stunning.

The whole thing isn’t helped by Brad Pitt’s performance in the central role of Max. Now we know Pitt can act; so I can only assume the arch, stilted style he employs here is actually a directorial choice. Perhaps it was meant to be a call-back to the acting style of the 1940s; but either way though, it just doesn’t work. Thankfully, Marion Cotiallard isn’t similarly burdened and does her level best to keep the movie on track. She’s believable as the feisty Resistance fighter, even if her character is ultimately overwhelmed by the dumbness of the script. They feature in pretty much every scene, so there’s precious little room for the supporting cast. Probably the pick of them is Jared Harris (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) as Max’s superior officer in the RAF.

As it turns out, Allied is a major disappointment. This is a clunky franken-movie, cobbled together from bits and pieces of much better films. It’s not helped by a terrible script and Zemeckis’s heavy-handed direction. Unless you’re a fan of 1940s fashions, this isn’t a movie that should be high on your holidays viewing list.

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard, Jared Harris
Release Date: 26 December 2016
Rating: M

David Edwards