REFLECTION

 

There is something a little intimidating about sitting down to compose a review on a rather large/potentially important motion picture that has received little or no “buzz” from other movie commentators or even much of a nod from the ubiquitous gang at “Rotten Tomatoes.”

The motion picture Nuremberg is such an event. Even with an all-too-ready concession that the movie fails in ways that I could only wish it did not, there is still an abundance of terrific stuff built into this effort to qualify this historical drama as one of (if not) the best movies of the year.

In today’s world of filmed entertainment, perhaps this film would have been a better presentation as a six-to-eight-hour mini-series. There is certainly enough story for that and I, for one, felt the two and a half hours of the film’s running time simply flew by.

Director James Vanderbilt’s work was solid and often inspired. I found that I could only wish that screenwriter Vanderbilt’s efforts were as worthy as those of his alter ego behind the camera.

The script was good in so many ways, but only occasionally did it approach greatness and too often was too thin … too convenient… too much of the time.

Russell Crowe as Hermann Goring gives a perfect performance… one, for which, I am sure, he will be recognized by his peers. Rami Malek, as US Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley, is almost always interesting (Bohemian Rhapsody, Mr. Robot), but in some ways miscast in this role. Michael Shannon gives his usual solid performance of an American stoic, and Leo Woodall has a nice scene toward the movie’s end.

The mini-knock on Vanderbilt’s screenplay should be qualified because although much of this historical monument was given short shrift, the writer did not miss many opportunities at giving today’s audience the chance to make comparisons of the politics of mid-20^th century fascism and what is currently going on in the 2020s.

In many ways, Nuremberg is an old-fashioned movie. It is professionalism personified by every craft involved in the making of such a motion picture. It reminded me of a time when more than one of these movies came along on an annual basis.

Sadly, that is not so true these days.

And, as the calendar on my word processor reminds me, these days of 2025 are soon ending.

As of now, the only other movie I can reference with reverence is Blue Moon, the setting of which brings me to the world of theatre. In no particular order, the best of what I have seen in the world of entertainment include three tiny surprises on Broadway: the very campy, Oh, Mary, the very surprising to me, Dead Outlaw, and the incredibly brilliant, Maybe Happy Ending. Lest it go unmentioned, I must also reference the incredible staging of The Picture of Dorian Gray, which included the Tony Award winning performance of Ms. Sarah Snook.

Television… mostly in the series format… is what continued to float my boat. The Diplomat’s latest season, the vintage classic Gilmore Girls, Landman… and here I must pause to say that this year there has been no better writer of dialogue than Taylor Sheridan and no better actor at delivering a line than Billy Bob Thornton. In Landman, these two come together and it is a wow.

The Studio on Apple TV is toward the bottom of my best of 2025 list but it did make the cut… as did season four of The Morning Show although it was a drop off from the previous season number three. Perhaps seeing some very familiar scenes of the industry I write about in my upcoming autobiography, Before and After Cagney & Lacey; Memoir of a Hollywood Career from Mailroom to TV Maven was an influence.

Finalizing that book could also have led to my getting very hung up on a few other vintage shows during the year, namely Younger, Bunheads and Homeland… which I could watch and praise with equal enthusiasm every single year.

Some favorable comments, with a caveat or two, will be forthcoming in the NewYear about A House of Dynamite from director Kathryn Bigelow along with such highly touted Best Motion Picture entries as One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Sinners, Marty Supreme, and Bugonia.

Finally, near the top of the year’s best was the limited series, Adolescence. Every actor was perfect and the direction was nothing short of brilliant. Exceedingly rare anytime but particularly so in the year 2025.

Happy Holidays to all with a look-forward to 2026.

 

Barney Rosenzweig