ALLIED - The Movie: A tale of intrigue and suspicion surrounded by a depth of love even the hardest
Some movies are just great viewing and Allied is definitely one fitting that category. It is a romantic thriller – a tale of intrigue and passion, love and war, trust and possible betrayal and all brought together by a creative team that does a brilliant job. Watching this beautifully shot film reminded me of the poignancy and tension found in that wonderful classic, Casablanca, which in a way isn’t surprising as it is in this same exotic city and era where the two main leads first find each other and with both movies having key scenes filmed at an airport.
Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard play two spies and to all intents and purposes fighting on the same side during World War II. Cotillard has the role of Marianne Beausejour – a young and attractive French Resistance fighter with a passion for both her country and her beliefs, while Pitt takes on the French Canadian Max Vatan, a handsome young Wing Commander recruited as an intelligence officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force and sent to Casablanca on assignment against the Nazi regime. At the time, Morocco was controlled by the French and from 1940 to 1944 the Vichy government aligned with Nazi Germany – a perfect boiling pot for spies and intrigue.
These two meet for the very first time already as husband and wife – at least on a false set of papers and as far as Marianne’s closest friends believe – and they do a thoroughly credible job in convincing all and sundry how madly in love they are, especially following a supposed enforced separation over the previous several months. During her time in the North African city, she has managed to befriend a host of residents as well as several Nazi officials, and this gives perfect access for the husband and wife team to deliver a round of bullets into the local German Ambassador ... and take out a few Nazis along the way.
Despite their loving displays of affection in public, the chemistry between them whenever they are alone is naturally awkward for two strangers who find themselves sharing a flat as well as a make-believe past. This is most especially true for Max, who hasn’t had to prepare the way 'his wife' has in order to convince those closest to him the young couple truly are who they say. Marianne manages to convince him how necessary it is to always be ‘in character’ because of the possibility of spies lurking around every corner or looking through every window. Not surprisingly, it doesn’t take long for any simmering undercurrents to ignite into full-blown passion, especially when there is so much at stake – after all, either one or both of them could be dead at the conclusion of the deadly mission and sharing one encounter would be a way to forget what lies ahead – at least for a little while. Besides as Marianne declares, “Who will know?”
The scene where he stops fighting her charms and submits to his building passion, which has been steadily growing over the previous week or two, is cleverly shot by a well-placed 360-degree camera ... mounted on the ceiling of a car ... out in the Moroccan desert ... in the middle of a sandstorm. Each of these elements adds to the whirlwind going on inside our two protagonists. Afterwards, Max realises he has fallen in love with his beautiful partner-in-espionage and, once their mission is successful, he asks her to travel to London with him and become his wife, especially after she tells him, "After the war is over it won't matter where I am."
All seems perfect in their new Hampstead abode and when a year passes, Max and Marianne welcome the arrival of a beautiful little girl right in the middle of an air raid. Anna’s birth ensures their life is everything either of them could ever want – everything except Max’s rare days off which are usually interrupted by phone calls from his boss summoning him to the intelligence office to attend another briefing.
Another year goes by and their love has continued to grow – a perfect relationship of tenderness and unbridled passion, unhindered joy in just being together with their precious toddler, and a belief that one day the war will be over and they will return to his homeland of Canada to raise horses on their ranch and put the horrors of war behind them.
And then the unthinkable happens. On his one day off in weeks, Max is summoned by an unknown British Intelligence Officer and ordered to set up a sting operation to prove whether Marianne truly is who she says she is and not someone with a stolen identity who is actually a double agent taking orders from Germany. Naturally, he is horrified and refuses to be a part of any such scheme until he is given an ultimatum that will see either his wife or both of them dead and their baby daughter left parentless. For the rest of the story, Max goes against orders, trying everything he can think of to prove Marianne isn’t a German spy – and all within the allotted 72 hours handed down before he has to kill her or see her killed and be hanged himself. When he overhears a hint that this horrific situation may simply be a game to test his mettle for a new assignment, Max has even more reason to doubt the motive of the cold high-ranking official. With time running out and coming up against obstacle after obstacle, the film's director holds audiences spellbound as patrons hope against hope Max can prove the British authorities wrong.
Ms Cotillard portrays her character with believable poignancy, giving a thoroughly convincing portrayal of a woman totally in love with her beloved man and precious baby. But is Marianne so good an actress that even her soulmate can’t tell if she is hiding a terrible secret ... or is she being set up by this unfeeling British officer with no compassion for a devoted family who share a depth of love most people never experience but always dream of, and between them have faced greater danger than most even during the conflicts of war? Her expressions are faultless and the way she wears the classic 40s style fashions makes you want to go back and live in those times, despite that terrible war going on outside.
Brad Pitt does an excellent job in his role of a man completely besotted by his beautiful young wife while trying to fathom if she is hiding a terrible secret that could bring a gory end to their idyllic lives. Similar to Ms Cotillard's dresser, his stylist did a fabulous job clothing him in the well-fitting dress suits and looser fitting trousers of that era.
The connection between these two actors is intricately portrayed – from the initial awkwardness he feels when they meet as loving strangers, to the tenderness and passion each of them shows when their true feelings are revealed, onto the terrible onslaught of guilt and puzzlement displayed during that inconceivable period of doubt and suspicion – and makes for compelling viewing. The script contains several subtle lines that could raise a few qualms ... but only for those who aren’t deeply in love.
The scenery is absolutely breathtaking – especially all the desert and Casablanca shots, despite these portions actually being shot in the Canary Islands – and the unfolding story is beautifully told. As viewers watch Max and Marianne's love blossom and grow, it is easy to see the depth of their feelings for each other and the reason he is determined to prove the British Intelligence people are wrong. One clever scene is when Brad Pitt proves his prowess with a pack of cards and has his wife and the Nazi official, along with the entire audience, gobsmacked by his skill in shuffling those little rectangular pieces of cardboard with the proficiency of a Las Vegas croupier.
The final few moments could bring a few tears for softhearted onlookers – though I’m not saying whether they are the good sort or those that come because of a tragedy.
As Marion Cotillard says in an interview, “It’s an entertaining movie because there’s a lot of surprise and suspense and love...”
This reviewer things she is absolutely right and as someone who enjoys a moving love story set around a tale of intrigue, I thoroughly recommend it. A well deserved 8 out of 10.
