Valkyrie (2008, USA, Brian Singer) **
Clearly, there is something entertaining about trying to kill the world’s best movie villain- Hitler, leader of the (dare I say?) NAZIS!!! Yes, the same Nazi’s that grace Indiana Jones. And now in Valkyrie American icon Tom Cruise plays Claus von Stauffenberg- a Nazi who attempts to assassinate Hitler. Fortunately, Stauffenberg is not the villain Nazi we American’s know so well. He is the leader of American dreams- our dreams to stop an unstoppable evil force. Stauffenberg’s mission then is to show American’s that, contrary to what the movies tell us, not all Germans are evil Jew killing Nazis.
Cruise reprises his iconic role as a confident to the point of arrogant, unswerving individual, headstrong hero (as best seen in Top Gun and Mission Impossible). The historical Stauffenberg tells a fellow conspirator in their first meeting "Let's be blunt, I am committing high treason with all my might and main...." Such boldness from the historical person gives a fair clue into the (slightly odd) casting choice of Cruise as a German Nazi (Who thought Cruise could convincingly portray a German?). Though Cruise will always be American, his strength as Stauffenberg is this shared confidence in themselves and in their missions. Cruise’s natural intensity on screen fits the character needed to assassinate the ultimate villain.
Only in this movie, Cruise is so powerful that he intimidates Hitler. What kind of villain is this Hitler? This pale, meek Hitler bends at the knee at the sight of Cruise then lavishes him with the highest praise. This Hitler loves Cruise so much that he jumps at the chance to sign any document Cruise brings him. This trust seems most inspired by worship. Cruise has all the power but unfortunately, Hitler has all the luck.
Luck, the element Gen. Ludwig Beck (Terrence Stamp) warns Stauffenberg of when he reminds, “Nothing ever goes according to plan”. Why is it that the gods seem to be on the side of evil? How could God protect the man who most deserves to die? These men have done all that’s humanly possible to do what’s right and yet they fail. However, because of the form of the movie, this tragedy is overlooked.
Bryan Singer transforms history into a heist movie (of the conspiracy thriller kind). As typical of heist movies, Valkyrie has a three-act plot. In the first act the team comes together, the originators find their main conspirator Stauffenberg, and together they begin preparations for the coup. In heist fashion, the movie explains the type of bomb being used, explores the details of the room where the bomb will be detonated, and emphasizes the danger and shortage of time they will have to complete the assassination plot and initiate Operation Valkyrie. In the second act, Cruise plays mission impossible. He carries out the plan and puts Operation Valkyrie into effect. In the third act, things go wrong. Hopefully people know that Hitler does not die (he poisoned and shot himself). Though life does not go according to plan, Stauffenberg heroically proclaims, “Long live our Holy Germany!”.
The heist movie formula does not support tragedy because characters are traded for plot details. Character motivations are lost. The movie never explores why a member of Hitler’s party would turn on his leader? What conflicts would Stauffenberg have in putting his family at risk? Why is this mission so essential to their moral fiber? And the tragedy of the failed mission is not felt. Why was Hitler so lucky? Is there any justice in the world?
Most people know how Hitler died and so there is no suspense. Bryan Singer creates a false suspense by only revealing what Stauffenberg and the other conspirators’ think happened to Hitler, but we already know what they don’t. In the end, Singer tries to heighten the suspense but he should have heighted the sense of tragedy.