79 years ago today, July 20, 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler during a military strategy meeting at the Wolf’s Lair in East Prussia. Stauffenberg and his group of accomplices wanted a change at the head of state to show the world that not all Germans were sympathetic to Nazi ideals.
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Already disillusioned with the war and his country’s direction in it, Stauffenberg (played by Tom Cruise) suffers an injury in an attack. The injuries trigger his motivation to move from passive to aggressive in his disdain for Hitler and the Nazi party. While recovering in a room full of other needlessly injured soldiers, he’s introduced to Friedrich Olbricht (Bill Nighy) who, in turn, introduces him to Colonel General Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp), Colonel Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim (Christian Berkel) and an entire underground committee who wish to remove Hitler. Stauffenberg comes up with the idea of Operation Valkyrie and the group decides to act. At the Wolf’s Lair, Stauffenberg plants a bomb in a briefcase and sits it directly under the strategy table where Hitler is being briefed. As Stauffenberg heads to his car, the bomb goes off, seemingly killing everyone inside. Operation Valkyrie is supposed to go into effect but Olbricht is hesitant and doesn’t initiate, instead waiting for confirmation from Stauffenberg himself. When he lands hours later, Stauffenberg realizes something is wrong and, because of Olbricht’s second-guessing and fear, the whole operation is behind the eight ball. In a desperate last minute attempt to seize on the opportunity of confusion, they scramble to get an updated plan in place and rush it into action.
Director Bryan Singer does an incredible job directing this biopic, capturing the intensity and the heart simultaneously. In the opening scene, he addresses the German-based characters in an English-speaking film by having Cruise read Stauffenberg’s journal entry in German before overlapping it with English. This serves as symbolism to the audience that the film is translating for them as opposed to using subtitles.
Cruise is the star, of course, but the supporting cast is the true stand out. Nighy, Berkel and Tom Wilkinson (who plays General Friedrich Fromm) bring their absolute best and the result is a masterclass in acting.
As with most films based on true events, there are dramatized aspects of the story but, all in all, this should be required viewing in our educational system. It’s unacceptable that I was in my 30’s before I’d heard of Stauffenberg and his efforts. This film helps bring awareness to the event and does so spectacularly.
JKG SCORE: 8.5
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