The nib

Valkyrie, by Antonio Martín

E motion contained

A new and highly anticipated new film from Tom Cruise, fallen idol and former golden boy of Hollywood, you can blame many things, mainly related to the choice of lead actor. In a story based on true events that takes us to 1944, during World War II. Many do not believe the idol of the masses in the uniform of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, responsible for carrying out an attack against the life of Hitler with the help of key figures in the Nazi organization. Cruise does a decent and sober, but it is too cold in the implementation and its work is overshadowed by the other elements around it. We know how things ended, so the only clues to discover are: What went wrong? Why go wrong?

And here are the virtues of the film, so exquisitely filmed by Bryan Singer, author of one of the most surprising of 90: "The Usual Suspects" (a claim from now), whose screenwriter, Christopher McQuarrie, come back here to meet with the director of "X-Men." The film, full of powerful images and overwhelming initially, it is slowly rising, at a leisurely pace, almost hypnotic, with moments that are gold film (trembling hands above the women before the alleged death of Hitler) to reaching a climax as inspired as it was moving.

"Valkyrie" has a wonderful production design and not just a history lesson, but also works as pure entertainment. There will be a major Oscar contender. Perhaps not the time. But locks talent, a director who shoots with surgical precision and knows by heart the mechanisms of suspense.

In terms of interpretation, Tom Wilkinson, as usual, eats the screen. And although the rest of British performers falls short, as Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, is Bill Nighy (that singer turned around in "Love Actually"), who surprises with raw action.

Trailer

Trailer in Spanish at http://www.valkirialapelicula.es/