Nuremberg

TIFF REVIEW: BY DARREN ZAKUS

November 3, 2025

2.5 OUT OF 5 STARS

Nuremberg features strong performances from its entire cast led by the excellent pairing Rami Malek and Russell Crowe, but despite crafting a film that hits all the right emotional notes for the audience, James Vanderbilt’s screenplay gravely mischaracterizes the nature of the Nuremberg trials that will frustrate viewers who know the history behind this story.

The saying is history repeats itself, and there is something uncomfortably familiar about the discussion of evil that unfolds in James Vanderbilt’s latest film, echoing events in today’s world that make this story all the more timely. Vanderbilt’s history as a writer is varied to say the least, from being one of the writers on David Fincher’s masterful Zodiac, to lots of blockbusters films both good (the latest two Scream films) and the bad (Independence Day: Resurgence and this year’s Fountain of Youth), having only directed one feature before. To follow up his directorial debut, Vanderbilt turns his attention to another historical true story, this time the aftermath of the Second World War and the Nuremberg trials, which saw members of Nazi high command stand trial for the events that occurred during the Holocaust. From a historical perspective, it’s an interesting event as it is often viewed as the birth of modern international criminal law, and while the trials themselves did not necessarily amount to a kangaroo court as there was a judicial process, it was far from a fair trial with the victors prosecuting the defeated and creating the law that was used to convict. While choosing to focus on Hermann Göring and Douglas Kelly, the psychiatrist who assessed Göring as fit to stand trial as the narrative entry point for his film, Vanderbilt’s insistence on romanticizing the portrayal of the Nuremberg trials to pay homage to some of cinema’s most beloved courtroom dramas and wilful avoidance of the larger legal and historical context of the trials results in a misleading drama that plays on the audience’s rightfully justified reaction to the outcome of the trials to compensate for its narrative shortcomings.

No film telling true stories ever gets the facts one hundred percent correct. There is always leeway given to the film’s writers to dramatize the events to create a compelling story while educating audiences, and there is no question that Vanderbilt’s retelling of the Nuremberg trials and the events leading up to it has a crowd pleasing element to it. While the conversations between Göring, one of the highest ranking members of the Nazi party, and Kelly, are fascinating to watch and give some truly captivating scenes of intellectual jousting throughout the film, playing the Nuremberg trials like A Few Good Men is a massive stretch. Placing Göring on the stand and delivering the big gotcha, “you can’t handle the truth” moment on all accounts fails to capture what actually happened at the Nuremberg trials, especially when Göring’s testimony fails to have that memorable line. And while audiences who aren’t well versed in World War II history or international criminal law will find Vanderbilt’s film powerful, anyone who has knowledge in either of these two areas will be dumbfounded on how Vanderbilt missed the critical fact of the Nuremberg trials: that its outcome, for the most part was predetermined.

Apart from one line in the opening minutes of the film, Vanderbilt’s script follows characters as they search for facts to convict the Nazis. In doing this, the screenplay largely forgets to focus on the fact that the majority of the legal statues and laws that were used to convict at Nuremberg were created specifically for Nuremberg, as there was no formal system of international law predating the Second World War. While no one can argue with the outcome of Nuremberg, as the atrocities committed by the Nazi Party to this day remain some of the most horrific crimes ever committed and amount to a cultural genocide and many of the individuals deserved to be severely punished for their hand in it, the screenplay championing the individuals for finding “the smoking gun” to convict Göring and elicit his confession on the stand, which his damning confession really doesn’t say much at all, amounts to tasteless Hollywood schmaltz. It results in a screenplay that contributes false stakes to the Nuremberg trials, making it look like the victorious Allied Forces brought the Nazis to justice, instead in reality they were creating a legal framework to convict the Nazis and on a world stage to ensure that the treatment of Germany after the Second World War was legally justifiable to try to prevent the hatred of the West that gave rise to nationalism in Germany after the First World War and Hitler the fuel to become a compelling political figure.

It is too bad that the screenplay tries to make an exciting and rousing court room drama out of the Nuremberg trials, which couldn’t be farther from the truth of the trials themselves, because the remaining aspects of the film are quite strong, notably the cast. Vanderbilt’s screenplay, while problematic in terms of its contents, keeps moving at a great pace and makes the two and a half hour run time move by quickly; Brian Tyler’s musical score works perfectly to help build the emotional beats of the story, and the production and costume design does a great job recreating 1945 Europe. There is no shortage of excellent performers with actors like John Slattery, Michael Shannon, Richard E. Grant, and Lotte Verbeek in the ensemble cast, all of whom are great in their more limited amount of screen time. Leo Woodall continues to prove himself a phenomenal young actor as Sergeant Howie Triest, the young sergeant assigned to Kelley as his translator during his time in Nuremberg, capturing the pain of this young Jewish man after the atrocities of the Holocaust and being forced to face pure evil in the form of Göring. Malek gives what is easily his best performance since Bohemian Rhapsody as Kelley, developing this intelligent man who finds himself pitted against a highly intelligent, cunning and despicable human being and locked in a psychological duel with him. His scenes with Crowe, as the two of them try to out maneuver each other are absolutely sublime, but when not with Crowe, Malek carries the dramatized burden of trying to ensure that the Nuremberg trials are a success with a bleeding heart and great sentimentality with an eye for humanity within the darkness of Kelley’s situation, that easily makes for an emotional watch for viewers.

But, it is Crowe who towers over the entire film as Göring. Delivering what is easily his best performance in over a decade, Crowe is downright chilling every second he is on screen. Utterly repulsive, calculating and cold, Crowe chews up every second of screen time he has with an undeniable charisma that lures the audience and individuals into Göring’s web, leaving a lasting impression on viewers long after the credits roll and captures the disgusting and evil nature of Göring. Opposite Malek, he creates a bond of trust, albeit one built on lies and calculated reveals of information from his side, as he misleads Kelley and enacts his plan, hoping to escape the noose. It’s a masterful performance to create such a hated individual while being respectful, but Crowe does it with a calm collectiveness that brings a nuance to Göring, allowing the audience to see the gears turning within his head though you are always apprehensive to what the next step in his plan is. Crowe was one of the most in demand actors in Hollywood in the 2000s, but in the past ten years dropped off with some peculiar role choices and some straight up bad films, so seeing him deliver one of the year’s most unforgettable performances (in the most revolting way imaginable), is a truly welcomed return for him as an actor.

While you can see what James Vanderbilt was going for in Nuremberg, and it will trick uninformed viewers into thinking it is far more powerful drama than it actually is, its mishandling of the historical context and key factors of the Nuremberg trials in fact does audiences a grave disservice. Good intentions are not enough to make a film commendable for the story it is telling, but with a strong ensemble cast that ensures that there is never a dry moment, even if history majors and those with a background in international criminal law will be throwing their hands up in confusion and disappointment, it's hard not to be entertained by Nuremberg. Despite the excellent lead trio of performances from Rami Malek, Leo Woodall and Russell Crowe with the best performances he has given in years, Nuremberg crumbles under a screenplay that takes the easy way out, creating a Hollywood courtroom drama out of the Nuremberg trials and relying on the fact that Nazis are evil to stick its landing, instead of embracing the true legal and geopolitical factors at play to create the more honest and thought provoking historical drama that audiences deserved.