James Vanderbilt’s “Nuremberg” may be set nearly 80 years ago, but the filmmakers and cast believe that the message resonates today as much as it did in the aftermath of World War II. The court thriller dramatically dramaticizes the first international court against Nazi leaders, examining not only their crimes but also the nature of evil.
The ensemble is tasked with assessing Nazi war criminals with Oscar winner Rami Marek as Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelly. Russell Crowe as Hermann Goering, Hitler’s deputy commander. John Slattery as a US executive. As one of Judges Richard E. Grant. Michael Shannon Supreme Court Judge Robert H. Jackson, US prosecutor.
Vanderbilt, who wrote and directed the film, said he first came across the story more than a decade ago and was struck by its immediacy. “It was the fastest I’d said ‘yes’ to anything,” he recalls. “I thought it was a fascinating way to stories like this, a quest for what the nature of evil is.”
Russell Crowe and co-star Leo Woodall play a vital German-speaking character, but neither actor knew the language beforehand. “We cast Leo as a translator, but he didn’t speak German,” says Vanderbilt. “But they both worked very hard to pull it off. Russell wanted to jump into research and be historically charismatic. That was to create someone who could seduce you even if he was repelled by what he was standing there.”
Marek praised his colleagues for their commitment and recalled how intense those claustrophobic cell scenes have become. “When I went to Russell and toe in that environment, I left nothing on the table. We screamed, screamed, destroyed, and found humans.
Slattery now sees the relevance of telling stories, especially as the world is fighting against new threats to democracy. “It certainly has something to do with it, but it’s not a history lesson,” he says. “It’s a thriller. It was the first time used in the first international courts ever organized as evidence to show the world what this regime had done. And it was to put your personal feelings aside, and to see what these men did in fairness and try to see what the world did.”
Oscar nomination grant (“Would you forgive me?”) pointed out the authenticity of the production. “The recreation of Jamie Vanderbilt’s extraordinary script and the set up to the final millimeter was incredible,” he says. “A lot of Hungarian extras experienced firsthand family experiences with Nazi and communist occupations, so when you saw the character feel guilty and accountable, you felt it in the room. It was electrification.”
Shannon, who brought the strength of the trademark to Robert Jackson, said his acting gave him the opportunity to study history in ways he never did in school. “I was a really poor student,” he says with his signature dry humor. “But one of the perks of acting is that you learn so much more about history and the world than you actually sat in a stupid classroom. Living into this history is an incredible gift.”
He also pointed out the film’s deeper message. “Jackson understood that in order to deal with evil, we had to investigate it. We had to analyze why it exists and why it appears through people. It’s a very important skill for humans.”
Still, Shannon couldn’t resist some lightness when asked about his future collaboration with Jeff Nichols, the frequent partner who defined his career, where films like “Take Shelter” and “The Bikeriders” defined his career. “Jeff struggles to get money to make a film,” he jokes, but has hints of integrity. “He’s made six epic films, but still doesn’t get the funds he deserves. So if you want to see another Jeff Nichols Michael Shannon movie, check out our GoFundMe page.”
For Marek, who won an Oscar for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Nuremberg” felt like another opportunity to delve into a decisive chapter in history. “This is one of those stories that we can look back and say, not only because we all made the film, but also because we had to tell a story that we had to tell in a subtle and surprising way, if we were to get it right,” he said.
Vanderbilt wants the audience to see it as more than a history lesson. “We built it as a thriller,” he explained. “It’s about exploring evil, but it’s emotional, riveting, and fun. Like the historical thriller I grew up in – “JFK”, Apollo 13, “Glory” – it should move you.
