Finale saves film from the pits

Movie Review:

Allied (M) - Rating 8.5/10

The build up to Allied’s release created even more anticipation when the rumour mill suggested an affair between the leading actors was the reason for Brangelina’s shock separation.

This led to the expectation the on-screen chemistry would be palpable, but this pair comes across as mismatched as an odd pair of socks.

Where Marion Cotillard is breathtaking as Marianne Beausejour, a French Resistance fighter who has infiltrated the German high circles in Casablanca, Brad Pitt is lacklustre as Canadian wing commander Max Vatan.

Marion’s character is clever, charming and exudes adoration towards her counterpart, while Pitt – apparently as stunned as the audience by her beauty and performance – seems to stumble along for the ride, leaving their relationship to come across as one-sided and unconvincing.

Pitt doesn’t deliver his lines with conviction, which is a shame, as almost every other element of the film was perfection.

Set in 1942, French Resistance fighter Beausejour has infiltrated the German high circles in Casablanca, tasked with posing as Vatan’s wife in their mission to assassinate a Nazi ambassador.

Believing they are facing a suicide mission, the pair engage in a steamy affair in the middle of a sandstorm – a passion which carries through the ensuing battle and leads Vatan to ask Beausejour to follow him to London to be his wife.

After a year of marriage and having a child together, Vatan is called into a top secret meeting with a Special Operations executive who alleges Marianne is in fact a German spy.

Not believing it could be true, Vatan is determined to prove her innocence, while agreeing to run a 72-hour ‘blue-dye’ test that will reveal her if the accusation is correct.

His desperate seeking of the truth is thwarted time and time again, leaving the viewer as on edge as Vatan himself, a tension maintained right to the last scene.

The costuming is divine and the cinematographer cleverly uses mirrors throughout for captivating shots which give insight into the characters emotions.

While this was largely anticipated as another Mr and Mrs Smith, it diverts in a completely different direction towards an ending that is entirely unpredictable.

Only those with a heart of stone won’t be moved by the final scenes.