Allied

This review may contain spoilers!

At this point I'm just impressed with how much French was spoken in the film, Brad Pitt in particular surprised me by spending the first half hour of the film mainly speaking French. I would give Allied a 7/10.

The first act of the film takes place in Casablanca, in which we're plunged into a huge espionage operation between Pitt and Cotillard, during which they begin to fall in love with one another. It's a gripping opening and really sets the bar high from the get go. After this act the film mellows out somewhat into an interesting mystery about the identity of a German spy; tension is high throughout and the strain this storyline places on Pitt and Cotillard's relationship is one of the hardest things to watch. The cinematography is magnificent, moments of art are captured throughout the feature whether that be Pitt parachuting into Casablanca or young Anna being born amidst a bombing over London. The score is very gripping, it especially helps to enhance the slower paced back half of the film.

Brad Pitt, who played Max Vatan, is a very stoic and reserved Canadian agent in this film; Pitt's hard exterior masks a deep affection for Cotillard that defies the expectations placed upon him by his superiors. Jared Harris, who played Frank Heslop, is a really gruff senior officer who has a great underlying chemistry with Pitt; Harris brings forth an authority figure who plays by the rules but who you can also empathise with and enjoy while he's onscreen. Daniel Betts, who played George Kavanagh, is one of the best sources for natural comedic wit in the entire film; Betts is quick and sharp with his line delivery prompting some great exchanges between members of the cast and himself.

However the best performance came from Marion Cotillard, who played Marianne Beausejour. Cotillard kicks the film off brimming with confidence and control, there is no doubt that she is the super-spy and Pitt is her sidekick. However the strength in this performance comes as Cotillard strips away her cocky exterior to reveal her role's more vulnerable qualities. We see her unveil more of herself to Pitt to the extent that they form a strong bond and touching romance. When the film reveals Cotillard to be a German spy it's heartbreaking, made even more powerful by Cotillard showing her character taking her own life to save Pitt's.

The narrative really feels like two different stories as I've indicated above, we get what takes place in Casablanca and what takes place in London/Paris. This duality within the story serves to be quite jarring and has a negative effect on the pacing of the film as the first half moves quicker than the back half. The dialogue is also written to be quite stilted, some interactions get to the point where you eye roll at a few of the things that get said - Pitt tells a young pilot to think of his father not his mother when flying into a warzone for instance. The plot twists are well done but it's also fair to note that nothing within the film is very surprising, it's all fairly predictable. The editing moves at a slow rate, there's a tendency to linger upon shots and scenes that allows the film to drag on for a bit longer than it should.

Simon McBurney, who played S.O.E. Official, gives such a dry performance that you can't help but find his scene underwhelmingly generic; McBurney paces through his lines steadily without ever making much of a lasting impression. Marion Bailey and Anton Lesser, who played Mrs Sinclair and Emmanuel Lombard respectively, are some weak minor antagonists in this film; this pair rounds out the German spy ring at the heart of London though you could have fooled me as they were hardly in the film. Lizzy Caplan, who played Bridget Vatan, apparently plays Pitt's sister in this film despite having no chemistry with him whatsoever; furthermore Caplan's character was depicted as a lesbian yet in a way that seemed very out of place with the direction of the rest of the film. Matthew Goode, who played Guy Sangster, is introduced to the film in one very brief scene; his connection to Pitt is kept very vague and you're expected to feel a great deal of sympathy for Goode without the film going to the effort to explore his character thoroughly enough. Josh Dylan, who played Capt. Adam Hunter, has one of the more forgettable roles in the film; Dylan's exchange with Pitt makes for one of the most awkward to watch scenes. August Diehl, who played Hobar, is a minor antagonist that seems more goofy than menacing; his parlour tricks and jokes really undercut what could be quite an intimidating scene. Thierry Fremont, who played Paul Delamare, is a rather stereotypical drunk Frenchman in this film; Fremont doesn't have a whole lot of purpose other than to deliver some small amount of exposition. Xavier De Guillebon and Camille Cottin, who played Claude and Monique respectively, are one of the blander aspects of the Casablanca storyline; this pair present an extremely boring couple who have some passing conversations with Cotillard and Pitt that you'd be quick to forget.