*This review may contain spoilers*
Brad Pitt once again delivers an exciting experience. This time he’s joined by Marion Cotillard and together they have chemistry that most directors couldn’t even imagine to have. Unfortunately, after their performances Robert Zemeckis gives us a film that doesn’t have much below its surface and is predictable and sometimes boring.
Allied is about an officer named Max (Brad Pitt) going to Casablanca to complete a mission with a woman named Marianne (Marion Cotillard). Together, they complete their mission against all odds and fall in love. Max then tries to get Marianne into the UK and they start a happy family. It isn’t until later in the war that Max is alerted that Marianne might be a German spy. The pressure is mounting against him as he tries to discover the truth and goes to extreme measures to do so.
Pitt and Cotillard’s chemistry works in this film. I understand now why some people are so adamant that Cotillard was the one to ruin Pitt’s marriage. I think that’s completely unfair and off base, but I can see how people who’ve seen this movie can believe so. What works about Pitt and Cotillard is how they seem like they’ve just met in Casablanca, but they have something. Then, when the film carries on, it just seems like more and more they get closer together. It’s like they shot this in order and that’s why they seem to connect so well. I was also blown away by how much you care for each character individually despite minimal screen time. There are moments when you think that this won’t work out, but the way that they carry themselves gives you hope.
My biggest complaints are with the story and some of the locations that were chosen. I feel like this story is just inaccurate. There’s just weird moments when you just say to yourself, “I don’t think that’s how that works”. I don’t remember specific points, but I just get that feeling from time to time. I also thought the pacing is weird when they get back to London. There’s just a visible difference in everything once they get back. Maybe it’s the London air sucking away all their emotion and they’re coming back to reality, but it just felt like someone gut punched this movie after they get from Casablanca.
The worst scenes in this movie for me were in the sand dunes. I thought it was pretty obvious that they were on a soundstage and they just felt out of place. I felt like it was to keep the film grounded, but it just made the film feel empty to me. There were moments when I thought these conversations should’ve just happened back at the apartment.
Overall, this is a fun movie, but I think its lack of re-watchability hurts it. Despite having amazing chemistry between the top two characters, it’s hard to see past the story that falls flat on its face at times. I wish the film could keep the energy that it has in the first half, but I understand the choices that were made. I hope that this means we will see Marion Cotillard more because she was phenomenal.
Grade: B-
