Allied (2016) - Review
Originally published April 2017One of the few advantages of being trapped on a 10+ hour plane ride is the opportunity to watch all the recent movies I'd normally wait to see on Netflix years later. One of the films I decided to watch was Allied, a story of espionage and love between a Canadian intelligence field-officer and a French Resistance fighter during World War II. Despite its various flaws—including its atrociously vague title—I think the performances help elevate this movie into something worth watching, even if Allied isn't doing anything new.
Days later, I'm still thinking about Allied. I'm surprised that such a film would make such a lasting impression on me. However, I would not say all of the lingering thoughts are positive. There were some issues I had with the overall pacing and editing, and I'm not sure it really earned its main conflict or ending, as some of that could have been resolved if the smart characters made some smarter decisions. Nonetheless, I still ended up enjoying it and it stuck with me. Why?
Image: Paramount
Pros
Solid acting from Marion Cotillard, who has a natural ability to own the scene.
Well-shot action interspersed to keep the momentum of a war/love story moving.
The dialogue is strong in the first act, while the later sections are better at moody drama.
The melancholic feeling of dread and doubt is palpable and appealing.
In the latter half, Pitt finds the ability to emote a bit more and proves he's come a long way from "What's in the box?"
Cons
Love between the two characters feels a little rushed in the beginning. I didn't buy it until the story moved to the latter half of the film.
Some loose ends are tied up too conveniently, while others are left hanging by the end.
Some unnecessary characters.
A very "Hollywood" film with overly romanticized and overly dramatic circumstances, as well as a distracting amount of sex that is just sort of thrown in to make a movie in the 1940s more modern; it felt like a cheap method of getting people's attention.
Pacing and events are somewhat formulaic.
The editing just rushes through certain events because we need to get details out of the way. Some important opportunities for dramatic memorable moments are lost as a result.
Certain early clues are given away too liberally, which contrasts the latter half of the film which is much more discreet and coy.
Plot & Thoughts
Allied opens in 1942 with Max Vatan (Brad Pitt), a British SOE officer from Canada, landing in the Moroccan desert via parachute. He gets picked up in a mysterious car and is given his mission details and equipment. He quickly integrates into Casablanca's local society with the help of Marianne Beauséjour (Marion Cotillard), a French Resistance fighter who establishes his alibi as her husband from Paris. While Vatan's (Pitt's) French is not entirely convincing (to me or the characters), Marianne makes fun of him for it and does most of the talking for him to keep up the ruse. While in Morocco, the two of them are assigned the suicide mission of assassinating a Nazi official at a public event. Before doing so, however, they have to continue building Vatan's alibi and prepare for the mission.
They go through the typical movie melodrama of two people who are there to do a job, clash at times, but then find common ground and fall in love. It's all very efficient, but the speed at which this portion of the film moves hurts it as much as it helps it. The efficiency is mostly acceptable, except when dealing with the depths of characterization they're trying to accomplish, in addition to the excitement of the espionage. This is especially an issue in regards to developing the love story between the two. It ends up rushed, as though there were a couple of scenes missing where the characters really connected before they got to the point where they were having sex.
Image: Paramount
The opening half of the movie almost feels like it needs to be longer to make up for the lack of meaningful character development. In some ways, it might be better off not even being in the movie, because what happens in this section is not what the movie is really about. I understand why the romance and character development are underplayed here since the real crux of the film and its drama is in the plot that follows the Morocco mission, but I'd rather they really try to sell me the connection these characters develop and not just assume all it takes is a Titanic sex scene to make people fall in love.
As for what occurs after Morocco, I don't want to disclose too much, even though the trailer does. Part of what made Allied a satisfying watch was going along with Vatan's increasing stress and internal conflict without knowing too much beforehand. All you need to know is that an investigation is involved and his love life suffers as a result of his increasing misgivings about his situation. Considering the fact that their love life is being tested during this time, it is here that I had an easier time buying the romance between the two characters. The first half of the film may have been rushed, especially during the brief, nearly-a-montage sequence that bridges the two major story arcs, but I was far more invested in the love they shared when the initial courtship stumbles had been concluded.
Image: Paramount
The latter half is where Allied really starts to shine. The film does a good job of capturing the pain of the circumstances the characters find themselves in, without necessarily being over-the-top with it. Much the same, it handles Vatan's doubt about everything and is able to even transfer his perspective to the audience, with the help of Cotillard's acting ability. While I think the dialogue is better in the first half of the film with all the spy talk and banter, I think that Allied is at its best during the quieter second half when it's a much moodier film. This is where the direction and the acting succeed in elevating the film's quality.
That being said, there are still issues by the end of the movie that I wish had been thinned out. Certain loose ends are resolved far too conveniently. There are characters and scenes that really have no reason for being in the second half and could have been swapped out for more time in the opening half. The main characters make some rather dumb decisions, which is frustrating when they're supposed to be smart & strong under pressure. These and the more significant issues would be more acceptable if some explanation was given as to why I should or should not assume something a certain way.
Image: Paramount
TL;DR (Conclusion)
I am a bit torn about Allied. There are a lot of little nitpicky issues I have with it. Yet, there is an undeniable affection I have for the movie overall that made me all the more invested in its outcome by the end. Part of it is the accelerating dread of the second half that made me sympathize more with Pitt's character and his conflicting emotions. I just wish the opening act of Allied was a bit more focused on the romance they were trying to build and less rushed. I also would have preferred that there fewer contrived plot problems left lingering by the end. Still, it's a well-acted love story that pulled me in and captivated my thoughts days after watching it.
Do you agree or disagree? Tell me what you think in the comments!
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