Nuremberg

New Zealander Russell Crowe takes the lead in reprising the role of the rotund figure of Hermann Goering in the film "Nuremberg".

One of the most senior figures in Hitlers Reich, Goering was considered both astute and charming, if unsurprisingly, conceited. A World War I fighter ace, Goering rose to power alongside Hitler. He surrendered at the end of World War II to the allies and was put on trial, at Nuremberg.

This film is a mixed bag. Historically it takes a lot of liberties and could hardly be called "accurate". Notions of the US "winning the war" are pure fantasy, as is the claim they set the stage for the Nuremberg trials, getting other nations to "play along". In truth, the Soviet Union was the most powerful player at the end...

Rather than attempt to reimagine the excellent 1961 Judgement at Nuremberg, this fact-based drama focuses more on events prior to that; those that see the allied judiciary seek to get into the mind of the recently incarcerated Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe). To do that, the Americans draft in psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) who has quite an unorthodox methodology when it comes to his patients. He knows that his quarry is shrewd, sophisticated and that he is no pushover, but in order for himself to deliver the characterisation his bosses want for public consumption, he is going to have to deftly acquire this mans confidence. Those sensitivities are largely born out of a concern that the Allies have no authority to try anyone for any...