The Exception (2017)
Nothing is as it seems in this riveting World War 2 thriller as a wary soldier goes to investigate a mysterious German monarch at his secluded mansion, leading him into a web of deceit and a dangerous love affair with a local Jewish woman.
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It's 1940 Berlin. Army Capt. Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney) is on the outs after an incident during the Poland invasion. He is sent to Holland to guard former Kaiser Wilhelm II (Christopher Plummer). He follows the victorious advancing German forces to find the former ruler bitter at his losses and his wife Hermine (Janet McTeer) eagerly pushing for the monarchy to be reinstalled. Colonel Sigurd von Ilsemann (Ben Daniels) is the chief of staff and Mieke de Jong (Lily James) is the new maid. Gestapo Inspector Dietrich is searching for a British spy suspected to be in the nearby village. The situation comes to a head when SS Commander Heinrich Himmler arrives to meet Wilhelm.It's an interesting wartime espionage film until Mieke essentially reveals her situation to Stefan. I assumed that she was playing him but apparently the movie was about her falling in love with him. I don't buy this central premise and that does irk me for the rest of the movie. In order to sell him as the Exception, the Poland incident really needs to be the first scene. The movie needs to make him the hero of the piece. I'm not necessarily a fan of Jai but that is all on the movie. Lily James does the best she can and there are some great veteran actors around. They make this better than its worth.
Good film, captivating, good acting, but the end game was poor.
The very few minutes of this movie and i was like NOPE i cant stand British accent playing Germans or for that matter anyone else besides a German. How are you going to have a Brit or a Jew play a Nazi? It just looks ridiculous and unwatchable. At least directors like Q.Tarantino make the effort, wouldn't waste my time on this.
After the invasion of Belgium, Captain Brandt (Jai Courtney) is assigned to protect The Kaiser in exile in Belgium. While he is there he is informed there is a British spy who we know is working as the maid (Lily James.) The story develops slowly adding small layers of complexity.The film attempts to revive the idea of "the good German" and not all soldiers on "their" side is bad. Brandt believe the SS who gunned down innocent people were the exception to the norm. He doesn't have the belly for it. The movie was more drama than a war film.Guide: Sex and nudity (Jai Courtney, Lily James)