Allied

Plot synopsis:
French Morocco, 1940Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) parachutes into the desert. He walks some distance before he is met by a driver who supplies him with luggage, a wedding ring, a weapon, and false documents. The driver tells Max that the woman he is to meet will be wearing a purple dress, and to "look for the hummingbird."Max arrives at a club in Casablanca. He finds the woman, Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard). She instantly knows who he is and excitedly greets him with a kiss. They pose as husband and wife to Marianne's friends before they leave. As they drive away, Marianne compliments Max on making a convincing appearance, but she criticizes his Parisian French accent.Max and Marianne's mission is to kill the Nazi ambassador. They work on their ruse posing as a married couple by living together and trying to make their charade convincing.The two meet with the ambassador, Hobar (August Diehl). Marianne does most of the talking as she tries to convince Hobar that Max is her French assistant. Hobar insists Max attend a party, but Max pretends he would rather play poker. Hobart challenges him to split a deck of cards. If he gets the low card, he must come to the party. Max expertly shuffles the deck and picks the low card, the outcome he desired.They continue preparing for their operation, including target practice, and pretend to be husband and wife. Max resists Marianne's sincere advances for a while until they have sex in Max's car in the middle of a sandstorm.The two attend the party with multiple Nazi officials present. When Hobar descends the stairs and speaks to the assembled guests, there is a large explosion outside. Max and Marianne seize weapons from under a table and shoot the Germans. Max wounds Hobar and then finishes him off with an expert shot to the head. Marianne kills one German when he tries to shoot her, and she nearly kills his wife until Max pulls her away. They continue shooting until they drive away.With the mission completed, Max and Marianne prepare to part ways, but he invites her to join him in London where they can get married. She agrees to join him and they wed.An air raid takes place over London. Marianne is in labor and is evacuated from the hospital as bombs start dropping. Max stands by her side, and Marianne gives birth in the hospital courtyard to a baby girl that they name Anna.After a year, Max and Marianne have grown accustomed to their life as a family. They have truly fallen in love. Max is called in to meet with a commanding officer, Frank Heslop (Jared Harris), as well as an S.O.E. official (Simon McBurney). They inform Max that Marianne is suspected of being a German spy. The real Marianne Beausejour had been killef, and that a German spy (Max's wife) took the dead woman's identity. Max learns that Hobar was a dissident and Hitler had wanted him dead. The officer orders Max to conduct a test of Marianne's loyalty, a Blue Dye operation, or both of them will be shot. Max is infuriated that they question his wife's loyalty, but agrees to cooperate, until he decides to investigate the truth on his own.Max plans to hold a party for Frank and other officers to help them see that Marianne is who she says she is. Max goes to his sister Bridget's (Lizzy Caplan) home to invite her and her girlfriend Louise (Charlotte Hope).Max visits an former associate of Marianne's named Guy Sangster (Matthew Goode). Max finds Guy in an hospital recuperating from injuries, confined to a wheelchair, and his face horribly disfigured from his wounds. Max tries to show Guy a photo of Marianne on their wedding day so he can identify her, but Guy's right eye was shot off, and the retina in his left eye is dislodged, so he can only see a white figure. He screams at Max for what has happened to him, but also tells him of another man in France, Paul Delamare, who knew Marianne. Frank orders one of his pilots flying a clandestine mission to supply Resistance fighters in France to find Paul, a one -armed man, and confirm Marianne's identity. While waiting for the answer, he is delayed and killed by Germans.The party goes on at Max and Marianne's home. Numerous guests are in attendance, with several of them getting intimate in various corners around the house. During the party, an air raid occurs. A German plane is shot down and appears to be going to crash into their apartment. Max runs upstairs to get Anna, but Marianne already has her. He protects them as the plane narrowly misses and crashes in a field behind their house.Max flies into France and looks for Paul Delamare (Thierry Fremont). Resistance members tell him Paul is in jail. They sneak into town and go to the Gendarme's office so Max can talk to Paul, the former associate of Marianne's. The soldiers take the Gendarme's keys at gunpoint and enters Paul's cell. He is very drunk and he pukes when Max wakes him up. Paul tries to go for his flask, but Max takes it away until Paul answers his questions. He shows Paul the picture of Marianne and asks if he knows who she is. Paul's answers seem to confirm her identity until he mentions that when he saw her, she played the French Marseilles on the piano like a goddess right in front of the Germans. Max is stunned. The Gendarme alerts German troops seeking black market cigarettes to the presence of the Resistance soldiers. Max and his comrades shoot the Germans, and Max tosses a grenade into their personnel carrier before administering a coup de grâce to the wounded Germans.Max returns to England and demands that Marianne go with him. He takes her to an pub where he tells her to play the piano and the French song Marseilles that Paul had mentioned. After hesitating, Marianne closes the piano, as she knows the story. She starts crying as she didn't think the Germans would find her in England. But they did and threatened to harm Anna if Marianne didn't spy for them. She admits she sent the message last night and she has been forced to spy for the Germans. Max is furious, but he asks her if she really loved him. Marianne says that she does love him and the life they have together.Max plans to take Marianne and Anna away. He kills the nanny and a jeweler who were her handlers. They go to an airfield where Max tries to get a plane started, but Frank and other soldiers arrive. Frank confronts Max and is preparing to take him in for treason. Marianne gently sets Anna down in the backseat and takes a gun from the glove compartment. She gets out of the car and tells Max she loves him and to take care of Anna. She turns her back and shoots herself in the head. Max takes his jacket off and covers Marianne's body. Frank orders the other soldiers to report that Max killed Marianne by his own hand.In the final scene, Marianne writes a letter for Anna to read when she is older. She writes how she loved her, Max, and the year they had together in London. The last thing we see as Marianne's voice-over finishes is an older Max and teen-aged Anna walking through the field of their ranch.

Tags: suspenseful, intrigue, murder

Review:
I had high hopes for this movie because of Robert Zemeckis, Brad Pitt, and Marion Cotillard.
Marion and Brad are both convincing, proving to the audience that they are well- trained spies who don't hesitate to kill.Something I found very interesting about this movie is that while it's not primarily a war film, it did provide a very interesting look at what life was like for people.
There are some thrilling and harrowing moments as well as some poignant ones in the more intimate scenes, personally thought the controversial ending was quite emotional but can definitely see why it won't work for some.Marion Cotillard gives a nuanced and deeply felt turn, nothing short of sensational.
Much more could have been done with the psychological subtext, which would have made Pitt's character more interesting and given the story more consistent suspense and thrills.Pacing does drag badly frequently, primarily due to having superfluous scenes that lacked momentum and went on too long and also due to Robert Zemeckis' quite disappointing direction.
It is a slightly menacing tune and it complemented perfectly the atmosphere of tension, suspicion and slight desperation.Even if I have never been a Brad Pitt fan, he did a good job playing quiet Max, a man of a few words who sees his new world disintegrating.
Contrary to what some reviewers wrote, plenty of chemistry between the two, but also tenderness.If you like movies with a solid plot, linear storytelling, believable characters, difficult choices, great costumes and soundtrack, then you should like this.P.S. couple of remarks: Pitt's French was not the best and no way he could have passed for Parisian, but that did not bother me too much.
A very good script, with some great plot turns, and superior acting from both Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt in complex, challenging roles.
And it has a realistic feel, for the most part--for the sets in Casablanca (some good homage to the Bogart film, I would say also some Brando homage in parts of Pitt's performance), and the time back in the UK (second favorite bit is during a party in London).
Generally that World War 2 era has that glamorous style to it, and leave it to Robert Zemeckis to add that extra kick.Although I've Seen better costumes but this maybe because Canada did not have the best uniforms out of the WWII crowd.And that made this movie strangely interesting.
The 1st movie I ever seen about Canada's involvement in the War. Maybe I have seen others but it's so rare that it makes this movie seem unique that the story is about a Canadian wing commander who falls in love and builds a life with a woman who may not be all that she claims.Speaking of which, The best part of the movie is that drama.
Though I love the art direction as it puts me in That WWII setting, the visual effects do a good job of placing you right there, but the drama coming from Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard's connection on camera.
It's this connection that's the most important and makes the movie what it is, and the emotion baggage is well worth it.So not much of a war epic or an espionage movie as I went to see if for but it's a great love story set perfectly and beautifully in a different time and place worthy of checking out..
This movie seems like a long montage, you never feel engaged with the characters or the story as it races through plot points then plods through others.
Films like this one require top notch talent, and both Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard deliver outstanding performances to accompany this staple in film genres.
Not limited to the love story between Pitt's and Cotillard's respective characters, the movie also includes some deadly shootout scenes and dangerously close encounters with the Nazis behind enemy lines.Commander and intelligence officer Max Vatan (Pitt) is stationed in the famous city of Casablanca in French Morocco where he teams up with French resistance movement leader Marianne Beausejour (Cotillard).
Refusing to believe it to be true, Max must now conduct his own investigation into his wife's history to protect the ones he loves so dearly.I absolutely adored the look and feel of the film as it echoes the era of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
If you're a fan of WWII era films or the timeless spy movie, then you will definitely enjoy Allied.
Occasionally there are directors who can strike the balance between classical cinematic storytelling told through contemporary technology, and Zemeckis definitely struck that balance in Allied.Don't allow the weak writing to dissuade you from watching it; there is actually a lot to enjoy in this film.
I'm not sure if the overall plot got in the way or the studio got in the way but the third act was full of holes and felt on rails.Robert Zemeckis has directed some of the biggest movies of his time, Back to the Future and Forrest Gump to name a few, but I think his age has caught up to him.
The editing is also not helping but there is really nothing brought by the director that gets the viewer excited.The performances of Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard are a bit all over the place if only because after that first half they don't spend much time on screen together.
Character-building is the second worst thing in the movie, first is the acting (Brad Pitt is alright but rest of the cast is horrendous).
While the impeccably dressed Brad Pitt takes on those lousy (and also quite well dressed) Nazis briefly in Casablanca to remind the audience who the bad guys were in WW Two, most of the film centers around the trite and jejune dilemma of "true love" between the handsome soldier and his mademoiselle.
It lacks drive and purpose and some unifying idea for the audience to connect with after the grace period, say 20 minutes, when we still don't know how it will develop.The writing is truly lamentable; if this is what it takes to get a movie deal now the product is bound to be awful The pitch meeting on the project would have been the most exciting thing because the execution, in the script and on screen is lifeless, aimless and lacking in drama.Then there are the anachronisms, the language Pitt uses to superiors, the way people greet each other, the sense that non one had the faintest idea of what the 1940s was like.
The birth sequence deserves special citation: risible doesn't do it justice, it must be in the top 3 worst and ludicrous scenes ever shot in the last 40 years.As history is not what this film was really about when Pitt seeks to prove, or otherwise, his wife's veracity, and she has to pay a well-known national anthem, it seemed perfectly fine if she offered up some other tunes, for instance: "Die Fahne-hoch", "Die Wacht am Rhein", neither Pitt, nor the director, nor writer would have known the difference.And in the end it reaches it's terrible conclusion and delivers an unwanted epilogue which adds a mawkishness to the whole experience.
The usual November World War II film, this year we have Allied which is all about an undercover couple who eventually marry each other but a certain obstacle is thrown their way...British intel believes that the wife is actually a German spy.
Brad Pitt was great, although essentially used to be the bankable star and to get viewers to watch the film (ignoring the current affairs of his love life), he could've been replaced by anyone.
Overall, Allied was a decent romantic period drama with an incredible performance from Cotillard and outstanding direction from Zemeckis, although the script had inconsistent pacing.Review at: http://www.themoviediorama.com.
Overall I liked the film - the story, how was made with exception of Brad Pitt performance.
At times, the plot feels important as they try to build the characters and show nuances and characteristics for each protagonist, but overall, they fail to show a lot of important details in the plot and rather focus too much on the key characters.The second half is boring, with some interesting events here and there, but they barely keep the excitement and the thrill alive.Overall, a decent watch but had the potential to be much better if the plot was setup better and had more action or suspense at the end.
Here he tackles a WWII romantic drama starring Brad Pitt (as Max) and Marion Cotillard (as Marianne).
Allied is, at it's heart, a love story with the action of WWII as it's background which would explain why it is starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future), the first half of ALLIED tells the tale of two spies (Pitt and Cotillard) who are assigned to pose as a married couple in Casablance in order to assassinate a high-ranking German official.
During this mission, the two fall in love and head back to live happily ever after in war- torn London.The 2nd half of the movie is what happens after "happily ever after".This is a tale of two films, the first half and the 2nd half, and - for me - the 2nd half works much, much better than the first half.
I think it is because I buy the relationship between the two (especially the love that Pitt has for Cotillard) much, much better in the 2nd half of the film.
Cotillard, as always, is magnificent in her role playing the many layers of this character simultaneously and you feel for her at the end.These two are aided by a strong group of supporting actors/actresses - Lizzy Caplan as Pitt's sister (another Candian spy), the always watchable Jared Harris (as Pitt's boss) and the best actor portraying a Nazi not named Christoph Walz - August Diehl - as a, what else, Nazi who gets in the way of our two heroes.Zemeckis' direction is professional and workmanlike and works in this film, never getting in the way of the story, but not benefiting it either.
I had high expectations of this movie, especially given the talents of Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt.
Watched waiting for a wow moment...didn't happen,whilst it's a good film and a good story line for me she was the wrong actress for this part, she was good in "A good year" but never seen her in a good movie since, I am a fan of older war movies as they take the time to be more in depth and hold the audience in more suspense.
I think that more could have shown her past,maybe some going back in time scenes and make the movie longer, I enjoyed it anyway.its almost as if modern movies are in a hurry to end which means a great deal of story's are missed or hurried ruining the quality ...we don't all need special effects just more to hold our interest..
The casting, acting, pacing, feel and suspense comes together in a well packaged flick which deserves a view if you like any single aspects aforementioned.If you are looking for a better movie in the same genre then watch 'The English Patient'..
There is always much anticipation when Robert Zemeckis released a movie and while "Allied" did not win any major awards, it's still a good entry into Zemeckis' wonderful library of films."Allied" stars Brad Pitt as a Canadian intelligence officer and Marion Cotillard as a French Resistance fighter who were put together as a faux husband and wife in order to collect information against the Nazis in Casablanca during World War II.
The chemistry between the two was great and the scenes in which they were intimate were well made, high notes on the car in the desert storm scene.It is labeled as a war film, but war is not the most important thing in the movie, as hope and romance stand out in Zemeckis' glamorous and graceful style, adding to it beautiful costumes and set-pieces."Allied" is a great choice of film when it comes to romance during wartime and a good choice to watch with the person special to you..
Loved this from start to finish.The tension is at times almost unbearable - up there with Bryan Cranston in The Infiltrator.Brad Pitt & Marion Cotillard were really good.
Pitt and Marion Cotillard appear to be reading their lines from an auto-cue and, despite some hot sex scenes which belong in a different movie, there is surprisingly little chemistry between them.
During World War II, intelligence officer Max Vatan(Brad Pitt) is paired up with French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour(Marion Cotillard) on a deadly mission behind enemy lines.
Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard even try, but it's a very weak film..
Allied had my interest, for the cast, and for the story that I found interesting, but unfortunately the film is weak, Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard have a good chemistry, but their performances are only competent, the rest of the cast does not add on Nothing, I admit that I only find out that Robert Zemeckis was the director of the film credits, a director who made the excellent trilogy Back to the Future, the spectacular Forrest Gump, and the great Cast Away, made this movie weak, and The worst that his direction is medium, he does not do anything different in the film, the script does not help much, with moments uninteresting, and bad dialogues, and the action scenes are not exciting, but the film does well in the costumes Which is great, has a good costumes, but only stays in it, Allied is a weak and totally forgettable film, deserved its indication of best costumes in Oscar, but this is one of the few good things in the movie.
It tells a story that maybe we've heard a little bit before, giving some echoes to (obviously) 'Casablanca' since it begins in 1942 in the titular city and involves good-looking Hollywood stars in WW2 drama, and yet at the same time (mostly when it gets into its second half) it becomes kind of like a 'Spy Game' story (not un-coincidental as it's also a Brad Pitt film), in that kind of 'is-this-all-a-TEST' type of spy story that has also been common.
And yet, despite this (or because of it), and what is an intense performance from Marion Cotillard (lord knows she never lacks pathos), it's maybe the dullest film Zemeckis has helmed.I think the problem for me is the opening act, when Max and Marianne meet in Casablanca and have their assassination plot to carry out (one of the Nazis, by the way, in case you may not notice, was the Nazi in the bar basement sequence in Inglourious Basterds, nice touch whether intentional or not).
While the story leads ultimately to a place that carries a strong emotional payoff, it also had the sense of 'too little too late' for me.Allied is not a total loss by any stretch, in large part because Zemeckis is there to work, the period feel and look and costumes and design and everything about it is right and spot on, and Cotillard is terrific.
This movie is about 50 years too late.Should have and could have been made in the late 50s or early 60s with a dashing Hollywood star and a femme fatale.Started o.k but went just a bit silly..Brad Pitt seems to sign up for anything at the moment..his crew were a bit tepid and some of the action scenes looked as though they were filmed entirely on blue screen..( I know they were but they shouldn't look like it)!Got sillier and sillier and the ending was just about as daft as you could make it.Never EVER looked like a Bob Zemeckis movie and will almost definitely lose money.Movies are a strange thing..you get Birdman..Spotlight..The Revenant..
The film lacks a decent script but is compensated on the structure, design, setting and by the performances of Pitt and Cotillard.I was waiting for a Mr. and Mrs. Smith type of movie but this is certainly different from that.
Bet your life or bet your wife is the big question at the centre of this would-be World War 2 blockbuster thriller starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
"Allied" is of the latter nature, although like the former group it looks to the past for inspiration.Brad Pitt plays a Canadian intelligence officer during WWII who goes to Casablanca (where else?) to kill the German ambassador.
Much of the camera-work helps tell the story (notice the scene where Pitt looks at Cotillard in the mirror).Overall, I recommend it..
If boundaries of commitment are vague, that is how war divides (and brings together) people from different countries and backgrounds.The date is 1942 in French Morocco during the World War II, the Canadian spy Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) parachutes into French Morocco to meet the French Resistance Fighter Marianne Beauséjour (Marion Cotillard) who is assigned to pose as his wife in Casablanca.
Brad Pitt delivered an excellent performance and Marion Cotillard, somehow I couldn't believe her entirely, but was good as well..
Packing lots of promise, exhibiting a very polished surface, and keeping the interest alive for the most part yet in the end when the credits start rolling, there's nothing to take away from it, the whole journey feels rather generic, and only thing that leaves its trace is how beautiful its images looked.Set in 1940s during the World War II, the story of Allied follows a Canadian intelligence officer who teams up with an enigmatic French resistance fighter for a suicide mission in Casablanca and pull it off successfully.
He has filled Allied with implausible plot devices, unconvincing characters and some pretty average dialogue.The film starts with Brad Pitt, an intelligence officer with the Royal Canadian Air Force, teaming with French Resistance heroine, Marion Cotillard, in Casablanca to assassinate the German Ambassador.