'Allied' - Movie Review

Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard in 'Allied'

Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard in 'Allied'

'Allied'
Cast: Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard, Lizzy Caplan, Matthew Goode, Jared Harris, Raffey Cassidy, Charlotte Hope, Marion Bailey, Simon McBurney, August Diehl, Thierry Frémont, Daniel Betts, Camille Cottin
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Rating:

Though aiming for a 'Casablanca' type memorability, this World War II tragic romance has more style than substance working in it's favor.

Double-dealing Spy operatives, Canadian Intelligence Officer Max Vatan(Brad Pitt) and French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour(Marion Cotillard) fall in love during a risky mission and decide to resettle in London as husband and wife. But their idyllic marriage faces a tough hurdle when Marianne is accused of spying for an enemy state(it's not tough to guess which one).

'Allied' is set in World War II environs but has very little frontline ambush to give it any urgency or teeth. The romance takes shape behind the scenes -beginning in the cafes, reception halls of Casablanca and getting murkier in the bombed out streets of London. Director Robert(Who Framed Roger Rabbit) Zemeckis fashions it as an old-world spy thriller scripted (by Steven Knight) like a Len Deighton novel with dapper period detail holding up the intrigue, espionage, romance and betrayal.

So the audience interest is not easy in the coming. The parallels with 'Mr & Mrs Smith' are obvious. Like in the undercover adventure which brought Angelina Jolie & a much married Brad Pitt (to Jennifer Aniston ) together, this film too, has the two leads pretending to be a married couple before they actually get to it. With Stars like Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard essaying the lead roles (and especially after the rumors of an affair on the sets) one would have expected much more steam to show up here but the chemistry between the two is so turgid that their relationship doesn't feel like an involved one -merely make-believe.

Brad appears to have worked harder at looking pretty than putting on an intense show, so at best he comes across as Barbie's consort 'Ken' in uniform. Marion Cotillard does her best to make their involvement look more engaging but even she couldn't manage to ruffle up enough passion to be convincing. And as far as the scripting is concerned - there are far too many loopholes in the telling to be comforting.

The end result is also quite predictable way before half-time. The pensive pace doesn't add up to an engaging rhythm. Zemeckis' attempts to reference 'Casablanca' appears forced and the entire run of play appears far more deliberate and contrived than organic or involving. There's little to excite here other than the old-fashioned swag.