Nuremberg

Original title:	Nuremberg
Director:	James Vanderbilt
Release:	Cinema
Running time:	148 minutes
Release date:	07 november 2025
Rating:

1945. It is time to bring the Nazi regime to trial in Nuremberg. American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley is tasked with assessing the mental health of the dignitaries of the Third Reich. Faced with the manipulative Hermann Göring, he finds himself caught in a power struggle. A duel with absolute evil begins.

Cookie's Review

Before us, haggard people rush along a road, amid the chaos of the end of the war. In the middle of this crowd, a car stops, held up by American forces. A corpulent man steps out, imposing in his military uniform. Who is he? His name is Hermann Göring, Reich Marshal and second-in-command of the Nazi regime. The tone of the film is set with this first unexpected and powerful appearance of the high-ranking dignitary. The sequence is captivating in its veracity and gravity; once Hitler's right-hand man, he is now a mere prisoner.

We are in Nuremberg, amid the still-smoking ruins, the city chosen to imprison and try Nazi leaders. There is no let-up, as the following scenes show us the heated discussions, deliberations, and differences of opinion surrounding the preparation of an international trial, a first in history. Given the scale and importance of the defendants, the agreement of all the belligerent countries concerned is essential. This first part of the film is exciting and breathless, led by prosecutor Robert Jackson, who works tirelessly and spares no effort to ensure that the trial takes place at all costs.

Another prominent and essential figure in the film is Dr. Douglas Kelley, a psychiatrist and US Army intelligence officer who is in charge of interrogating the prisoners and assessing their mental state. His numerous daily visits to the Nazis may seem disturbing and frightening, but over time he comes to see the prisoners not as monsters capable of the worst crimes, but as human beings with their weaknesses and, all in all, not very different from us, at the risk of losing his impartiality and his soul. His face-to-face duel with Göring is the driving force behind the film, alternating between hostility, understanding, and indifference.

The trial is almost glossed over, the main focus being on showing only the most remarkable and poignant moments, particularly with the screening of archive photos of the Jewish extermination camps. Göring's retorts are fierce and emotionless, and he dominates the courtroom with his invective. The courtroom setting is well reconstructed, with close-ups such as the stenographers quickly transcribing the speeches on their machines. The shots allow viewers to take in the Supreme Court chamber at a glance and feel the heavy atmosphere that must have prevailed at the time.

The actors' performances help make Nuremberg a remarkable documentary about the post-war period, showing not only the historic trial but above all the difficulties involved in preparing and conducting it. Russell Crowe gives a convincing performance as Göring, with his assertive character, his posture, and his seductive and manipulative side. Opposite him, the psychiatrist played by Rami Malek, in the midst of an awakening, is touchingly true to life and sensitive, like a butterfly burning its wings in front of the cynical Göring. Michael Shannon is perfect and credible as a rigorous prosecutor, and the performance of the young actor Leo Woodall is remarkable in the role of the psychiatrist's military assistant.

Director James Vanderbilt has skillfully adapted and powerfully transcribed the book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” by American historian Jack El-hai. Not only thanks to excellent casting and performances by the actors, but also with a meticulous approach and powerful staging that allows the viewer to follow the film with realism and interest from beginning to end. The suspense is relentless, with alternating locations, prison cells, courtrooms, and the judicious use of archival photos. Nuremberg is a powerful film based on real events, a moving historical testimony that must be seen for the sake of remembrance.

Nuremberg
Written and directed by James Vanderbilt
Based on The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai
Produced by Richard Saperstein, Bradley J. Fischer, James Vanderbilt, Frank Smith, William Sherak, Benjamin Tappan, Cherilyn Hawrysh, István Major, George Freeman
Starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O'Brien, Colin Hanks, Wrenn Schmidt, Lydia Peckham, Richard E. Grant, Michael Shannon
Cinematography : Dariusz Wolski
Edited by Tom Eagles
Music by Brian Tyler
Production companies : Bluestone Entertainment, Walden Media, Mythology Entertainment, Titan Media
Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics (United States), Nour films (France)
Release dates : September 7, 2025 (TIFF), November 7, 2025 (United States), January 28, 2026 (France)
Running time : 148 minutes

Seen on January 19, 2026 at the Marbeuf club

Cookie's Mark:

Sabine's Review

Nuremberg is a German city whose name is now inextricably linked to the trial that took place there 80 years ago. At the end of World War II, for the first time, an international tribunal composed of members of the victorious countries (France, the United Kingdom, the USSR, and the USA) tried the main Nazi leaders. The concept of "crimes against humanity" emerged. The trial was filmed. The film focuses on the American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley, tasked with monitoring the mental health of the prisoners. Convinced he could identify a psychiatric typology of the Nazi personality, he forged a close relationship with the most important of them: Hermann Göring, creator of the Gestapo and second-in-command of the Nazi regime after Hitler. A disturbing relationship then began between the psychiatrist and the Nazi.

Screenwriter James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, Murder Mystery, etc.) directs his second film, adapting Jack El-Hai's book *The Nazi and the Psychiatrist*. He adopts the psychiatrist's point of view. He delivers a classically structured historical film, unfolding almost entirely in closed-doors. The historical reconstruction is meticulous. The treatment of the historical sequences is respectful of the trial's reality. The film incorporates archival footage, showing the reality and scale of the extermination in the concentration camps. The confrontation scenes between the psychiatrist and the Nazi are well-executed, with sharp dialogue. The film's length is justified given the complexity of the subject.

The film's strength lies in the actors' performances. Russell Crowe plays Hermann Göring. He delivers an impressive and unsettling performance, brilliantly embodying the paranoia, narcissism, and arrogance of this high-ranking Nazi official. Rami Malek plays the psychiatrist, with less success. The revelation comes from Leo Woodall, whose nuanced and sensitive performance is truly remarkable. Michael Shannon portrays the American prosecutor, and David E. Grant the British prosecutor, with a gravitas that lends depth and dimension to the whole.

Nuremberg is an important and necessary film that questions the nature of evil, the role of historical memory, and international justice. It resonates with our times because these questions remain relevant. The Nuremberg trial was intended to prevent such crimes from recurring. Eighty years later, viewers gradually realize the failure of this goal. The film was released in the United States in November, for the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Nuremberg trial. In France, the film will be released on January 28, 2026, the day after the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Seen on January 19, 2026 at the Marbeuf club

Sabine's Mark: