NEW YORK (OSV News) – As the historical drama “Nuremberg” (Sony Pictures Classics) successfully reminds its audience, the trials held in the titular German city in the aftermath of World War II almost didn’t happen. What takes place in the uncertain lead-up to them kicks off the film’s action.
Summoned to the temporary prison for former Nazi leaders Allied forces nicknamed Camp Ashcan, Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), a psychiatrist holding the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, is assigned to assess its inmates. The senior — and by far most intriguing — figure among them is ex-Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering (Russell Crowe).
Swayed by his preeminent patient’s deceptive charm, the analyst wavers between tentative friendship for him and the need to assist the military and legal authorities. The latter include Ashcan’s hard-driving commandant, Col. Burton C. Andrus (John Slattery), and, eventually, the lead American prosecutor, Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon).
Crowe’s multi-faceted performance as the wily Goering propels writer-director James Vanderbilt’s adaptation of Jack El-Hai’s 2013 book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist.” By turns genial, cunning and — more consistently — impossibly vain, the World War I flying ace seeks to distance himself from the horrific crimes committed by the regime he subsequently served.
The principal moral point of the movie is that those bewilderingly evil actions — the full extent of which was only beginning to be understood as evidence was gathered for the international tribunal at which Goering would be tried — not only cannot be excused or minimized, they can’t even be contextualized by any feeble effort at establishing an imagined ethical equivalent.
Some moviegoers may conclude that Malek’s highly personalized performing style makes him a poor choice to play Kelley, insofar as the analyst is meant to serve as an Everyman conduit into the story for viewers. Yet his tightly wound, driven demeanor pairs well with the suave restraint with which Crowe endows Goering and helps keep the pace of the proceedings snappy.
As detailed below, “Nuremberg” includes a number of elements best suited to grown-ups. In light of the picture’s potential educational value in providing an accurate retrospective on a vital series of events, however, many parents may consider it acceptable — as well as informative — fare for older adolescents.
The film contains disturbing footage of crimes against humanity, a hanging, suicides, a scene of urination, partial nudity, several profanities, a few milder oaths, at least one rough term and a handful of crude and crass expressions. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
Read More Movie & TV Reviews
Copyright © 2025 OSV News
