Own it on DVD May 22, 2007
Director
Steven Soderbergh
Cast
George Clooney .Capt. Jacob ‘Jake’ Geismer
Tobey Maguire .Patrick Tully
Cate Blanchett .Lena Brandt
The Movie
When it comes to filmmaking, the one director who seemingly takes more risks on a fairly regular basis is Steven Soderbergh. Unlike the biggies – Spielberg, Lucas, Scorsese – Soderbergh is more open to experimental filmmaking. Traffic may not have invented the multiple storyline style of film, but he certainly elevated into a film that has been successfully imitated many times over. Bubble made history by being released on DVD and in theatres in the same week. Artistically, the man is willing to strike out and experiment with various styles to varying degrees of success. With The Good German, Soderbergh has crafted a film that’s visually striking but lacks in perspective.
Following three different points of view, the film’s center focuses around three people and the world that intertwines them. Captain Geismer (George Clooney) is a journalist covering the peace conferences following World War II. Tully (Tobey Mauire) is the man assigned to be his driver, and his current girlfriend Lena (Cate Blanchett) used to be Geismer’s lover. When Tully is murdered, Geismer is left to solve the crime against a government that wants the crime to be hushed away.
The interesting thing about the film is how Soderbergh has produced it. Done exclusively on backlots in Los Angeles with equipment available during the height of film noir, he’s developed a film that could have been made with Bogart and Bacall back in their prime. With the sort of stage-like acting and the unique way in which the film was made, it certainly feels like it could go hand in hand with Casablanca in terms of its visual style alone. He absolutely delivers a terrific atmosphere and setting, evoking the sort of yarn that was prevalent many moons ago.
The problem is that the film doesn’t have a solidly directed narrative to contain the meat of its story. Broken up in viewpoints between the three main characters, the film tries to be a noir piece but misses out on the one thing that’s a staple of the genre: the protagonist overcoming all odds. The film doesn’t give us enough of Geismer trying to solve this mystery, like the genre generally dictates, and instead clouds the perspective by adding in information too early that ruins Geismer’s quest for the truth. We already know certain particulars that come out later and this fact doesn’t help out the narrative of Geismer trying to solve the murder in any way. Because of knowing the particulars before the protagonist, it’s almost tedious to see the hero have to figure them out.
It effectively takes the gusto out of a solid noir piece. It’s different than anything released last year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great film. Instead it remains as merely good.
The Audio
Presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format, the film has a solid if underwhelming soundtrack. It’s relatively inconsistent, as at various times the dialogue comes through clearly and other times it’s a bit soft. The same could be said for the scoring, as well, as it is alternatively powerful and underwhelming throughout the film.
The Video
The film is presented in a widescreen format with a 1.85:1, with black bars on the sides to get the film as close as possible to the 1.66:1 aspect Sodenbergh seeks to emulate. In black and white, obviously the film doesn’t have much of a color palette to work from, but the picture is clean and clear.
The Extras
None.
