Mischaracterized characters

Rating: 5/10 (15 June 2014)

Reviewers refer to the team of art rescuers in "The Monuments Men" as "charmingly quirky crew," and "misfits." Such descriptions may well describe the characters in the film version of this operation; but they misrepresent the authentic assemblage of talented men whose job it was to rescue the stolen art treasures of Europe by the Nazis, and to prevent further pillaging. George Clooney tried matching his directorial talents to his artistic ego, and failed. Perhaps Clooney gets an A for effort and for his heart being in the right place. And perhaps "The Monuments Men" is an enjoyable movie for some or for many; but it is a poor portrayal of serious persons as entertaining pantomimes. A problem shared by many that exist in the insularity of Hollywood is a breakdown along the lines that separate reality from entertainment. Moviegoers tend to be less-and-less patient with reading and less-and-less finical about authenticity. Even the wading through title of Robert M. Edsel's non-fiction work, "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History and Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis," they would find exhausting. By this, Clooney's undertaking will survive; but not nearly as well as the treasures at the center of this story.