The Good German film review

THE GOOD GERMAN

Director Steven Soderbergh could certainly never be accused of taking the easy option. Ever since his emergence with Sex, Lies And Videotape, he's frequently taken artistic risks, not all of which have come off. Bubble, anyone? But he should be applauded for trying. The Good German is another courageous endeavour and while it has much to admire, as an experiment it's not entirely successful.

At a time when the film industry is consumed with new technology in its continual quest for fresh visual tricks, Soderbergh has turned to the past. The Good German is an homage to the film noir era, in particular such classics as The Third Man and Casablanca. The director has taken this tribute to extraordinary lengths, going so far as to only use equipment that was available at the time, including fixed focal-length cameras, incandescent lights and boom microphones. From a technical aspect, The Good German is a truly authentic looking film noir. It's the story that is less convincing.

Set in Berlin in 1945, the plot involves a US war correspondent Jake Geismer (George Clooney) who's returning to the war torn city having once run a news bureau there. His driver is the corrupt, opportunistic Corporal Tully (Tobey Maguire) who's always looking for a way to make a buck. Tully's girlfriend, the enigmatic Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), had previously been Geismer's lover. When Tully is found murdered in the Russian sector with a 100,000 marks on him, Geismer investigates his death, one that involves both the Americans and Russians. Adding to the mystery is the involvement of Lena's husband Emil (Christian Oliver) who is hiding, in fear of capture.

The cryptic dialogue and plot is designed to imbue The Good German with a inscrutability to match its shadowy imagery. Only at the end is there a clearer indication of what the secrecy is about, by which time it's too late as interest has long since wavered. There are plenty of hard-boiled lines like the one delivered by Lena to Jake, "You should never have come back to Berlin.” Though very much in the noir vein, they come across at times as almost comical, with The Good German occasionally veering close to the tone of the noir spoof classic Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.