Friday, October 27, 2017

Allied (2016) ***

Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard star in an old fashioned World War II drama/espionage thriller Allied that's both suspenseful and emotional. Directed by Robert Zemeckis with a pristine sense of period detail, the film recalls the literature of Graham Green and Elizabeth Bowen. 

Max (Pitt) is a Canadian who works for British Intelligence in North Africa where he meets his contact Marianne (Cotillard) who is with the French Resistance. Their mission is a success and they get married. Then the movie shifts to wartime London, where Max begins to suspect whether Marianne's been totally honest with him.

There are excellent set pieces and an outstanding supporting cast. The terror of living in London during the blitz is realistic and frightening. The two leads have a strong chemistry and the story's full of surprises. 

Now that Zemeckis has come out of his animation phase, he's turned his attention to stirring historical thrillers of another era, much like his onetime mentor Spielberg. Allied is never boring and tells its story with precision and wit. 

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