Synopsis
An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.
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Cast
- George ClooneyJake Geismar
- Cate BlanchettLena Brandt
- Tobey MaguireTully
- Beau BridgesColonel Muller
- Tony CurranDanny
- Leland OrserBernie Teitel
- Jack ThompsonCongressman Breimer
- Robin WeigertHannelore
- Ravil IsyanovGeneral Sikorsky
- Christian OliverEmil Brandt
Recommendations
- 88
Rolling Stone
This is Soderbergh's show, and a haunting and hypnotic show it is. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Blanchett gets everything right -- the accent, her German dialogue, the weary sexuality (deliberately reminiscent of Marlene Dietrich) and the amorality her character has embraced. - 75
Entertainment Weekly
The leisure-time viewer will say, ''Hey, this is sort of like "Casablanca," so why play it again?'' - 63
ReelViews
The Good German, Steven Soderbergh's film noir homage, is nearly perfect when it comes to style and tone, but it concentrates so single-mindedly on the mechanics of the narrative that it loses sight of its characters. - 50
Variety
For actor and director, the project seems like trying on a new coat, and it doesn't fit either of them. - 50
Time
Soderbergh doesn't miss a trick, and for a while it's fun for us to share in his fun. But there comes a moment when his Euro-noir film turns into another sort of exercise for the audience: an exercise in boredom. - 50
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Steven Soderbergh is usually an inspired chameleon, perfectly suiting his style to his content. But The Good German is an ambitious miss...It's all very beautiful, high-minded, and remote. - 50
The New Yorker
How, then, does The Good German--adapted by Paul Attanasio from Joseph Kanon's novel--wind up so insubstantial, its impact lasting no longer than a cigarette?
