Valkyrie (2009)

Because he's stayed off the crazy talk for some time now, I felt ready to reacquaint myself with Tom Cruise in a December 15 preview screening of Valkyrie (a movie that had a hard time being made in Germany because of Cruise's high-profile involvement in Scientology). Since Valkyrie is based on and hews closely to historical events in 1944 Germany under the dictatorship of Adolph Hitler, it is a very tense and suspenseful film from the opening credits to the end. (Seeing the movie on an empty stomach, I decided to be nice to my knotted bowels afterwards.) Historically, we know Hitler survived the highly placed and well-organized final attempt on his life nine months before the end of the war; no suspense exists in the outcome. What weaves the tendrils of tension throughout this film is seeing the extensive collusion and mortal risk required to machinate a clandestine assassination of the Fuehrer in broad daylight at the heart of his military empire. The viscerally foreboding soundtrack helps too. Cruise does well in the tightrope role as the most courageous and central figure in the conspiracy -- he's even quietly "ballsy" when necessary. Though we touchingly see his love of family, it is always subordinated to what he knows he must do. (Col. Claus von Stauffenberg's wife and children miraculously survived the war; his widow died in 2006 at age 92. For the full back story, search The Telegraph [telegraph.co.uk] for Stauffenberg or Valkyrie.) To his last breath, Cruise in this role voices the operatives' key motives for eliminating Hitler as "We have to show the world that not all Germany was like him" and "Long live our sacred Germany!" Depicting the heart of a totalitarian regime is tense enough but it's more menacing to witness (as it were) the inner hive of the world's most prolific mass murderer. David Bamber as Hitler is less chilling than I hoped, however, and we usually see only the back of his head -- a plot device that works well before we see his face and hear his voice but less so afterwards or often. The actual detonation and ensuing operations (pro- and counter-Valkyrie) were portrayed a bit less dramatically than I expected. Also, for some reason, Cruise resembles a doughy-faced Stephen Colbert. Nevertheless, make no mistake: Valkyrie gives us a taut and valuable window on the most authentically patriotic chapter in Germany's history. 4.5 stars.