Film "Allies": reviews, plot, actors

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Oscar-winning creator of the world-famous masterpieces "Forrest Gump" and the "Back to the Future" trilogy surprises his fans once again. His previous "Walk" did not receive any of the various cinematic awards and nominations for all its ambition. The Allies, released in 2016, met a similar fate. A stylish, but frankly weak spy war drama about a Canadian special agent who, at the height of World War II, suspects his wife of betrayal, with an IMDb rating of 7.10, has mixed reviews. The movie Allies has led many to think that Robert Zemeckis is losing his grip. The discord in the family of Pitt and Jolie that occurred on the eve of the premiere helped the military drama pay off at the box office, but most of the audience and critics expressed dissatisfaction with the desire of the authors of the tape for idealism in everything. The director tried to create an impeccable idyll, the destruction of which was supposed to shock the audience. But the result is an implausible melodrama with an unhappy ending.

History inbasis

The Allies (2016) is set in 1942, when Canadian pilot Max (Brad Pitt) lands in Morocco on a sabotage mission. He is instructed to eliminate the newly arrived German ambassador. Charming Marianne (Marion Cotillard), an experienced special agent of the Resistance, acts as a liaison in the operation. After completing the task, the heroes are evacuated to Britain, get married and have a child. A year passes, the authorities inform Max that Marianne is most likely an impostor and a spy. If this cannot be refuted, Max must personally deal with his wife. If he refuses to obey the order, then, of course, he will be a traitor and go to court.

Many reviewers of The Allies (2016) note that Zemeckis' work is based on a true love story between two spies who met during an operation to assassinate a German official. Therefore, the tape can claim to be realistic, but, from the point of view of historical accuracy, the story about the work of the special services is rather doubtful, individual episodes can only cause a sarcastic smirk from the viewers.

Out of line

One of the founding canons of Hollywood feature films says that each project should approach the main conflict as quickly as possible, which will be resolved in the climax. Therefore, the prologue is traditionally given 10-15 minutes, no matter how curious it may be. As the reviews say, the film "Allies" neglects this rule. The creators of the two-hour tape only decide in the middle of the storyinform the audience that the main character may well be a spy, and her husband will either have to justify his wife, or expose and eliminate if the impostor turns out to be a fascist agent. Critics argue that veteran and veteran filmmakers, director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Steven Knight, best known for writing Vice for Export, are deliberately embarking on this bold experiment.

Games with plot parallels

Why did the authors violate all Hollywood traditions? Many reviewers in reviews of the film "Allies" justify their decision by the fact that the creators could not deny themselves the pleasure of recreating the atmosphere of Morocco in the 1940s, previously sung in the legendary military film "Casablanca". At the same time, Zemeckis and Knight willingly play with plot parallels, although the two films tell completely different stories. In addition, they first try to convince the audience of the sincerity of the feelings of the main characters, and then put them to the test. This is the only reason why during the first hour of the project's timing, they talk in detail about the acquaintance of Max and Marianne, the formation of their romantic feelings. Of course, this is not complete without chases and shootings, but still the first half of the project is a natural melodramatic love story, and not an action story about a daring sabotage.

Amazement and protest

Unfortunately, as critics in the reviews of the film "Allies" notice, the idea of Night and Zemeckis fails for a very banal reason. Cotillard and Pitt are very attractive, charming, brilliant performers, but betweenthey lack a romantic spark at all. No matter how the authors try to convince the audience of the passion of their characters, their efforts cause amazement and inner protest. The main actors of the film "Allies" (2016) tried to embody their characters flawlessly on the screen, but they were able to do it with difficulty. Cotillard kept a mysterious expression on her face, it was difficult for the viewer to determine what she was thinking at one time or another, what feelings she was experiencing. Brad Pitt did resemble a hunted rabbit, as if fearing the appearance of an angry Angelina Jolie. It is unlikely that a brave scout and an experienced pilot should have such a physiognomy. The translation of the film "Allies" (2016) by domestic dubbing actors does not save the situation.

As a result, the first part of the tape does not fail due to the skillful transfer of Moroccan exoticism, and the second does not have enough screen time to cover all the vicissitudes of a full-fledged spy story with a lot of unpredictable plot twists, an intriguing confrontation between "bad" and "good" characters.

Paradox

The second hour of the film's running time boils down to the fact that the protagonist frantically tries to find people who know the real Marianne and are able to dispel or confirm the accusations against his wife. Marianne at this time maintains imperturbable calm, the villains do not do anything outstanding. This, of course, has a certain intrigue, and the authors successfully dilute the dialogues with action scenes. But it is still clear that the picture could turn out at timesit would have been more exciting if the creators had originally presented Marianne as a double agent and tried to focus on the confrontation of loving heroes, as in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Many reviewers wondered why Marianne was originally presented as a warrior and professional spy, if after that she behaves only like a caring mother and a humble housewife. And there is absolutely no difference whether to watch the film "Allies" (2016) in Russian or in the original voice acting - the impression does not change in any case.

Losing in brutality

The finale of the tape reflects a look at the Second World War, which is unlikely to please our compatriots. To be frank, the "Allies" with endless gatherings in cafes, elegant outfits and other attributes of a civilized society definitely lose in realism and cruelty to the masterpieces of Soviet and Russian cinema about the Second World War. There, the heroes do not crawl out of the trenches, resist the hordes of invaders, die a martyr's death for their homeland, and do not attend rampant parties with music, dancing and crates of beer. Zemeckis shows the war of those who hid behind the English Channel while our ancestors fought heroically near Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad.

Criticism

It is difficult to rank the Allied (2016) project among the best films due to the fact that it received mixed reviews from critics. On the Rotten Tomatoes website, according to 250 reviews of movie experts, it has a rating of 60%, that is, a rating of 6 points out of10 possible. Based on 45 reviews from Metacritic users, the film has a score of 60% out of 100.

That said, The Allies is by no means the worst war movie ever made. Its merit lies predominantly in its high-budget painstaking re-creation of London and Morocco, but not in its development of dramatic, gritty, and compelling storytelling. The declared topic is revealed weakly, if not primitively.

Entertainment on top

The only thing in which the audience's expectations will not be deceived is in entertainment. Robert Zemeckis managed to demonstrate all the virtues of a classic action movie: exploding bombs and shells, falling planes, chases, gunfights, hand-to-hand skirmishes, stylish costumes, enchanting scenery and natural shots. Yes, and just get distracted, enjoy the charming appearance and lively play of the creative duo Pitt - Cotillard, no one can interfere. But still, after watching the picture, the confidence that ambiguous or even “bad” heroes like those played in “Fight Club” or “Inglourious Basterds” is more suitable for Pitt with his heroic appearance increases dramatically.