The Monuments Men Review

Rated PG-13 (Some Images of War Violence and Historical Smoking)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 58 Minutes

Cast-

George Clooney-Lieutenant Frank Stokes

Matt Damon-Lieutenant James Granger

Bill Murray-Sergeant Richard Campbell

John Goodman-Sergeant Walter Garfield

Jean Dujardin-Lieutenant Jean Claude Clermont

Bob Balaban-Private Preston Savitz

Hugh Bonneville-Major Donald Jeffries

Dimitri Leonidas-Private Sam Epstein

Cate Blanchett-Claire Simone

Justus von Dohnányi-Viktor Stahl

Holger Handtke-Colonel Wegner

Sam Hazeldine-Colonel Langton

Serge Hazanavicius-Rene Armand

Michael Dalton-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Christian Rodska-President Harry S. Truman

James Payton-Adolf Hitler

Directed by George Clooney

It has an impressive ensemble cast but they can only do so much against the slack direction in George Clooney's "The Monuments Men."

Note: Screened on Wednesday, February 5, 2013 at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13. To learn more about the Monuments Men and their accomplishments, you can go here: http://www.monumentsmen.com.

With over sixty million casualties (and that's just a rough estimate), World War II remains by far the deadliest military conflict in human history yet this global clash is routinely portrayed through rose-tinted glasses as a 'good war' where all the sacrifices made by the Allied powers were entirely justified and worthwhile. This idealistic myth of World War II as 'a morally clear-cut conflict between Good and Evil' (1) has been continuously reinforced not just by politicians and teachers but also in video games and countless motion pictures. George Clooney's latest film "The Monuments Men" doesn't veer from this idealized vision as he explores a little-known historical saga about an inexperienced eight-man platoon whose mission is to recover and preserve artistic masterpieces stolen by the Nazis and if possible, return them to their rightful owners. It's a story that's obviously worth telling but the subject matter isn't very cinematic and would've been better served as a History Channel documentary instead. "The Monuments Men" has its heart in the right place, with the humor and easy camaraderie of its all-star ensemble cast helping to salvage this decidedly old-fashioned picture from complete mediocrity but there's no escaping the fact that Clooney's latest effort is a flawed and ultimately disappointing film.

As World War II rages on in its fourth year, Harvard art historian Frank Stokes (George Clooney) convinces a reluctant President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Michael Dalton) to form a 'Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives' program in order to help protect cultural property in areas affected by the war. Tasked with the mission of retrieving valuable works of art from Nazi control, Stokes gathers a group of like-minded individuals—medieval art curator James Granger (Matt Damon), architect Richard Campbell (Bill Murray), sculptor Walter Garfield (John Goodman), French art dealer Jean Claude Clermont (Jean Dujardin), and theater impresario Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban)—and heads to the European front, where they are joined by British officer Donald Jeffries (Hugh Bonneville) and German translator Sam Epstein (Dimitri Leonidas). To cover more ground, Stokes decides to split the men up as they scour France and Germany for any leads that might shed light on where the Nazis are hiding the stolen art. Granger is sent to Paris since he's able to speak French and comes across Jeu de Paume curator Claire Simone (Cate Blanchett), who has vital information regarding the location of the hidden masterpieces but is unable to bring herself to trust the American, believing that the United States is only recovering the art so that they can keep it for themselves. With the war steadily winding down, Hitler issues the 'Demolitions on Reich Territory Decree'—commonly known as the 'Nero Decree'—which states that if the Führer were to die, all the art the Nazis had taken must be destroyed. Locked in a race against time, Stokes and his men must recover the stolen art before the Nazis burn it all or the Soviets get their hands on them as 'reparations.'

In the production notes for "The Monuments Men," Matt Damon eloquently explains that not only does art represent 'the very best of us, of humanity,' it also represents 'the soul of society [and] the very best things that we have achieved. To destroy that is to obliterate something irreplaceable.' As a film critic, I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment but Clooney's script, co-written with frequent collaborator Grant Heslov and based on Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter's 2009 non-fiction book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, only pays lip-service to this. Despite its fascinating subject matter, the resulting film is a meandering picture that's tonally inconsistent and lacking in any real sense of urgency until the last fifteen minutes. Almost all Hollywood adaptations of real-life events take liberties for dramatic purposes and "The Monuments Men" is no different yet many of the alterations fail to make much of an impact. Even more problematic was the fact that I didn't know most of the characters' names until the end credits and mainly identified them by the actors portraying them. It's not that I wasn't paying attention; it's because they're introduced in quick succession (by the time the opening credits are over, Stokes has already gathered most of his team) and then split up before the audience even gets a chance to know them. Fortunately, some of the pairings lead to some amusing and heartwarming moments. Clooney deliberately set out to make a film 'that was straightforward, old-fashioned, and had a positive forward movement to it' so don't expect "The Monuments Men" to focus on 'the horrors of war' like Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" and Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line." Instead, this is a picture where a lone Nazi soldier can hold two Americans at gunpoint and then enjoy a smoke with them minutes later while laughing about John Wayne. To his credit, Clooney does touch on the Nazi's use of child soldiers during a tense shootout involving Garfield and Clermont and indirectly references the Holocaust when the team discovers a barrel full of gold tooth fillings taken from concentration camp victims but these scenes are glossed over to prevent the film from becoming too somber. I don't doubt the sincerity of the story; Clooney obviously cared enough to delay the picture so that he can pay tribute to the 345 men and women of the MFAA in the best way possible yet there's no getting around the fact that this a flawed film that would've worked better as a documentary mini-series. The idea of saving a people means also saving their cultural legacy is a noble one and if done proper justice, could've added a brand-new perspective to World War II. Unfortunately, it seems that the material just got away from Clooney's hands in spite of his noble intentions.

The lackadaisical script doesn't do them any favors but the all-star ensemble cast still manages to make the most of their thinly-written roles and prevent the film from falling into mediocrity. George Clooney probably didn't want to step on anyone's shoes and largely coasts by on sheer charisma alone while Matt Damon shares some nice chemistry with Cate Blanchett. The recently Academy Award-nominated actress brings depth to what is a one-note role and even though Damon's character is married, I actually wanted the two of them to get together (not that I condone cheating on your spouse). Bill Murray serves as the comic relief, with his character well-paired with the easily annoyed Preston Savitz, played by Bob Balaban. Most of the funniest scenes in "The Monuments Men" come from these two and there's a sweet moment where Preston, as a surprise to his new friend, plays a record sent by Campbell's daughter and grandchildren. Likewise, the pairing of John Goodman and Jean Dujardin is also strong, with the two sharing what is arguably the film's most emotional moment. Hugh Bonneville (from the hit ITV television series "Downton Abbey") plays a British officer struggling with his alcoholism and he too has a moving scene where he apologizes for every wrong he has committed in a letter to his father. Perhaps the best praise I can give to this extraordinary cast is that like Clooney, they cared about the themes that the film espouses and deliver performances that are both sincere and authentic, even if the story fails to measure up to their immense talents.

Released on February 7, 2014, "The Monuments Men" has received lackluster reviews with 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was previously set for a December 18th release last year but was pushed back (sacrificing its chances of garnering a few Academy Award nominations) as Clooney had trouble balancing the humor with the serious nature of its subject matter. Critics noted that the film's 'intentions are noble and its cast is impressive, but neither can compensate for [its] stiffly nostalgic tone and curiously slack narrative.' Box office-wise, the film will likely debut with $20 million at most and then quickly fade away. "The Monuments Men" could best be described as a missed opportunity. The stellar cast saves Clooney's film but unfortunately, nothing really stands-out outside of a few scenes and that's a damn shame because this is a story that should be told.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

"They tell us, 'Who cares about art?' But they're wrong. It is the exact reason that we're fighting. For a culture, for a way of life."

End Notes:

1. Studs Terkel, "The Good War" (New York: Pantheon, 1984), P. vi.