Nuremberg (2025)
Directed by: James Vanderbilt
Premise: Based on true events. In the aftermath of World War II, the leadership of Nazi Germany are tried for war crimes. Psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) profiles Reichsminister Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) while Justice Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon) prepares for trial.
What Works: World War II has been thoroughly mined by filmmakers and the story of the Nuremburg trial has been brought to the screen before in 1961’s Judgment at Nuremburg. Nevertheless, the filmmakers of 2025’s Nuremburg tell a compelling story. Nuremburg is a story in two parts: the relationship between Douglas Kelley and Herman Göring and the legal preparations by Robert H. Jackson. The Kelley-Göring relationship is the best part of the movie. Kelley is determined to profile the Nazi leaders in the hope of diagraming the nature of evil. Instead he discovers that these men were not monsters but human beings who did monstrous things and that the capacity for evil resides in all of us. This is the most vital lesson of Nazism, a lesson that Hollywood has often missed. In that respect, Nuremberg is a bit subversive within the genre of World War II films. The performances are good all around but especially by Rami Malek as Douglas Kelley and Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring. Kelley is initially seduced by Göring but eventually comes to realize the truth. That betrayal is evident in Malek’s performance. Crowe is very effective as Göring. He is soft spoken and charming but there is a cold calculation underlying his performance.
What Doesn’t: The legal case against the Nazi leadership is the weaker part of this story. Early on the filmmakers communicate the unique challenge faced by the prosecution. There was no legal precedent for this kind of international trial and a real possibility that Göring and his cohorts would go free. The filmmakers skip the details of overcoming that legal challenge. Instead, the courtroom scenes play as a standard legal drama that emphasizes theatrics over procedure and rhetoric. In reality, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union each brought prosecutions against the Nazi leaders. This film depicts the United States mounting the prosecution unilaterally with the assistance of the UK. Nuremburg ends on a coda sequence in which Kelley has written a book about the Nazis, warning that fascism was not unique to Germany and that the people of the United States are susceptible to its appeals. Kelley’s message is not well received. The ending comes across tagged on and it suggests a more interesting story than what Nuremberg presents.
Bottom Line: Everything about Nuremburg is competently done and the scenes between Rami Malek and Russell Crowe are outstanding. The filmmakers are on the cusp of doing something more interesting but they remain within the boundaries of a straightforward legal drama.
Episode: #1075 (November 23, 2025)