VALKYRIE - TRAILER

Here's a LINK to view the trailer at MovieWeb: THAT is hardly a German accent! Other than that the ROLE OWNS CRUISE!  AND SO DO HIS CO-STARS! 



His bad accent is only ONE aspect of HOW BAD his performance actually is: He turned an educated, sophisticated nobleman into a  show-off, a poser. He doesn't get the lines right, he doesn't understand the situation and danger Stauffenberg was in. That line, "I am involved in high treason with all the means available to me ..." (or whatever it was precisely), is something that Stauffenberg really said. But I have strong doubts that he was half-grinning or smirking when he uttered that sentence. He knew what kind of effect it must have had. Darth Tiny doesn't understand the character and his mindset at all. Mister Short Sleeves is too self-important and too much of a show-off. I doubt very much doubt that anybody, not to mention  Stauffenberg, would be putting on too thick in that situation. The content of what he says is outrageous enough. Therefore I think that he would have said something like that as coolly and unmoved and neutrally as possible.  Darth Tiny doesn't understand this.

Other than that, Stauffenberg's upbringing and breeding wouldn't permit him the kind of demeanour and conduct Mad Pygmalion displays in the trailer. He is not reserved and contained enough. This is a man that comes from an old, aristocratic family. These people were very aware of style which also equalled being disciplined. They were trained not to show emotion. I can't imagine that anybody, let alone Stauffenberg, would display something like false pathos under the circumstances given. It's not compatible neither with Stauffenberg's breeding nor the situation he was in. Stauffenberg was deadly serious. He had to keep himself very together, very focused and very tight in that situation. I believe that anybody, no matter how disciplined, would be very strained and would have had great difficulty to keep his "contenance" and composure under the given tension and danger. In other words: We don't need another Gayden Crystalmeth here.

Another major mistake that I see in that performance is the self-importance and self-awareness Darth Midget put into the role. I have problems believing this was Stauffenberg's ‚style‚. This man had a goal and an intention. He was willing to give his life for these. How self-centred could he have been? Aside from that, imagine the instant situation: This man is putting his life at risk. He can be discovered anytime, which certainly would lead to his own death and most probably the death of many others. Stauffenberg was aware of that. A similar situation was portrayed by Leo DiCaprio in "Departed". I agree, that he's no Tony Leung and he played a character from a very different background and with a very different personality,  however when I take a look at the trailer, I see nothing like fear and tension: Which is the reason why Leo looks like Brando next to Darth Tiny. He always made you fear and feel with him in „Departed“.

I believe the only thing that you can think of in Stauffenberg‘s situation is the enterprise you are about to undertake and the danger and risk involved with it. Remember, you are in constant fear for your life. This is the kind of constant tension that you carry with yourself.  Thus, the portrayal of Stauffenberg would have been the combination of tension under discipline; sort of a showing when not showing, very restrained and contained and yet absolutely fearful (among other things I can't think of right now. ) IMO. But I see no room for the kind of egocentrism that Mighty Midget displays. Instead, I very much miss the subtlety that goes with that kind of character. 

Stauffenberg was a brilliant and complicated man; a multi-dimensional personality. Mighty Midget comes off as shallow and superficial. I don't see the many dimensions that one might look for in such a character as "Stauffenberg" on screen. I mean, the trailer may not be enough to judge this, but this is my impression.
 
If they can't even make Cruise look convincing or compelling in two carefully edited minutes of a trailer - when you can make almost anyone or any movie look good - imagine how bad he must be in that movie, as a matter of fact, how bad the whole movie will be!

He screwed the role. What is better yet is that the role screwed his career. The role owns him. His co-stars own him. I think they carry the air and the atmosphere of the situation Stauffenberg was in, a lot better than the clown in the leading role. He doesn't have enough emotional and mental weight for the role. I mean, come on, squeezing your eyes while embracing your kid and try to cry? That makes me understand Gayden.


What do you guys think?


For fun: If you want to know what a thick fat German accent sounds like, here it is: Nico, the moron, former lead singer of Velvet Underground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkEylc1-18M