A handsomely mounted courtroom-history drama with a strong central premise and timely political echoes, but the execution sounds uneven: some viewers found it clumsy, over-explanatory, and tonally awkward. It may work best for viewers who want a serious, dialogue-driven postwar story and can tolerate some broad… Read more
Nuremberg
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · History · Drama
Thu · 2h 29m
Director: James Vanderbilt
Starring: Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon
Overview
In postwar Germany, an American psychiatrist must determine whether Nazi prisoners are fit to go on trial for war crimes, and finds himself in a complex battle of intellect and ethics with Hermann Göring, Hitler's right-hand man.
Director
James Vanderbilt
Cast
Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon
Curator Review
Verdict
A handsomely mounted courtroom-history drama with a strong central premise and timely political echoes, but the execution sounds uneven: some viewers found it clumsy, over-explanatory, and tonally awkward. It may work best for viewers who want a serious, dialogue-driven postwar story and can tolerate some broad writing.
Best for
history buffs
courtroom-drama fans
viewers interested in postwar Germany and the origins of modern human-rights law
fans of morally charged political dramas
Skip if
you want a tightly written prestige drama
you’re sensitive to anachronistic or quippy dialogue in Holocaust-adjacent material
you prefer action-forward war films
you want a subtle, deeply nuanced psychological portrait
Overview
Nuremberg has an inherently compelling setup: a postwar American psychiatrist trying to read the minds of Nazi leaders while the world decides how to prosecute industrialized evil. That premise gives the film a built-in moral pressure cooker, and the historical stakes remain powerful even when the script leans too hard on exposition or broad characterization.
Worth noting
The response suggests a movie that is often effective on the level of craft and premise, but less successful in tone. Some viewers praised its relevance and seriousness; others felt it undercut itself with modern-feeling quips and overly obvious dialogue. That tension matters here, because a story about the Nuremberg trials depends on precision and restraint.
Bottom line
If you’re drawn to courtroom history, ethical debate, and the uneasy psychology of postwar justice, there’s enough here to justify a watch. If you need elegance, subtlety, or a consistently sober tone, this may feel more frustrating than essential.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Ian_4_short (3.5★) · 6687 likes
Trump supporters will watch this and not understand the connection
Koreanwizard (2★) · 5294 likes
This is a Holocaust movie from the writer of Sony Marvels Amazing Spider-Man and Independence Day Resurgence, and it feels like it. The protagonist, a military psychologist, is introduced as a leather clad, smart mouth womanizer with a magic gimmick. This is a character in a movie about the Nuremberg trials. The cast is also constantly Marvel quipping in a movie about the Nuremberg trials. I swear to god a general says to the Nazi high Command in a dramatic… more
David Sims (2.5★) · 3351 likes
and, in an entirely seated role, Russell Crowe
allain♡ · 3239 likes
You are not Alexander the Great. You are a fat man in a cell. And you knew.
George (3.5★) · 3100 likes
did you just blackmail the pope
Themes
postwar justice, war crimes trials, psychological interrogation, moral responsibility, the banality of evil, historical memory, ethics and law, the legacy of fascism
Topics
historical drama, courtroom drama, psychological thriller, postwar Europe, war crimes, moral ambiguity, political relevance, prestige drama, Holocaust aftermath, ethical tension