The Good German | DVD Review

Steven Soderberg attempting to recapture the style and atmosphere of classic film noir with The Good German replete with vintage camera lenses and rear projection backgrounds is the type of project that would get any film buff excited. But while the film achieves this goal on a technical level it simply cannot overcome a poorly structured script, bad casting choices and a few drastic deviations from the era that they were trying to emulate.

The Good German is the story of American journalist Jacob Geismer (George Clooney) who is on assignment in a post-war Berlin that is being shared by U.S. and Russian forces when his military assigned driver, and war profiteer, Patrick Tully (Tobe Maguire) is found dead, leading him on a search for the husband of his former mistress, Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), and the secret to why both sides would kill to get him.

Just about every film can be looked at on two levels. “The Happen” – essentially summed up by the actions and situations of the characters and “The About” – the reason or reasons why the characters make the decisions that lead to their actions or what they learn from the situation they’ve encountered. Basically the moral of the story. The trick to making it work is subtlety.

Even with a passive viewing it’s quite obvious that The Good German is not really about a murder mystery nor is it about the search for Emil Brandt. These are merely a backdrop for what is really a story about the use of well calculated deceit for personal gain in the name of “the greater good” and the moral ambiguity of just about every single person in Berlin after the war regardless of their patriotic allegiance. Normally a multilayered film as such would be something deserving of praise. Unfortunately Soderberg delivers the “About” of the film with all the subtlety of the Anola Gay.

Soderberg spends so much time selling his depiction of the inherent nature of human greed in such a ham fisted manner that the film becomes preachy very early on thus making the solving of the mystery, (to which there was very little mystery) feel like it won’t really matter all that much. And in the end it doesn’t.

The script is a mess with a few sparkling moments of dialogue usually delivered by the Scottish Bar Tender. Soderberg has admitted in interview that adapting the book was a real challenge. The challenge was not overcome.

Blanchett is terrific as always but Clooney merely does a serviceable job in a role in which he should have shined. Tobey Maguire however, though normally quite competent, feels terribly out of place in this film. His delivery is far too contemporary and unconvincing. While the notion of trying to bring back a magic era of cinema is a terrific idea, some of the choices that were made by the director raise the question of whether or not he even gets it.

Two of the great elements of film noir is the use of tough talk and seduction. Soderberg has replaced this with foul language and sex. As the film starts the impression that we are watching something from a bygone era is strong and even exciting. But the first time you hear the word FUCK It hits you like a slap in the face and as soon as you experience it, the whole illusion is gone and all the work and aspiration that went into this wonderful idea … evaporates.


Given the way that this film was made, with the use of vintage equipment and processes, this is a DVD that should be rife with special features about the Making Of. Yet for some reason we don’t even get a trailer. What gives?

If the film has a saving grace, outside of its best intentions, it would be that some of the visuals really do manage to capture the style and mood of film noir. Although more often than not it still looks like they’re faking it.

Movie rating – 2.5

Disc Rating – 2.5