The Monuments Men

In the last year or so of the Second World War, a group of architects, art restorers, and collectors were sent into Europe to protect and recover pieces of art and buildings stolen by the Nazis or to be blown up by the Allies. George Clooney stars and directs The Monuments Men with this all-star cast of Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Bob Balaban and Jean Dujardin, respectively.

As subject matter for World War II films has become scarce, this seemed like a refreshing change and a story that should be told. Art being part of history, and that when you destroy it you erase history, should be enough for this film to go on. But where Monuments Men stumbles is the center. It brings focus to a couple key pieces of art that most of its audience will not understand, but an inconsistent tone suggests the whole operation to be a joke.

When I say inconsistent tone, I mean they switch between comedy and historical war drama like a routine light switch check. They give several jokes, but most won't be that funny given the dramatic tone between them. Each Monument Man gets his moment, but the whole movie feels like dramatic sketch comedy with a clip of George Clooney driving a Jeep woven between each bit. And I understand that these were based on true events, but they could have done a better job of writing some of the scenes. Each situation was unaffected by the others, because the group was spread across the continent for a lot of the movie. There were even some scenes that felt like they only existed for one joke, and there's not enough payoff for me not to ask "Why was that scene in the movie?".

I'll give it this, I cared for a couple of these characters thanks to some fantastic performances, particularly Goodman. But character development is rushed through a montage and then each character gets a scene or two. Bill Murray steals the show when he opens his mouth, but the script didn't give him a whole lot to do. And that's kind of what happens with most of them, there are a few things about them that are told to the audience, and then those rich back stories are never brought up again. 

Matt Damon spends nearly the entire movie trying to convince Cate Blanchett to trust him with the locations of the art, and then they try to force an almost romance that no one could care less about. Clooney doesn't seem to do anything in this movie except point at maps. Goodman and Dujardin have some great moments, same with Murray and Balaban, but the film really didn't show them growing together, or even spending much time together as a team. It just felt like a historical drama filled with poorly timed jokes.

There's also some strange editing in this film. It's not like there's weird after-effects or anything, and this just might be nit-picky, but the transitions seemed to be chosen randomly. They basically only used a cut or a dissolve, but they'd dissolve mid conversation, and cut between scenes after a soft dramatic scene. It was just something that took me out of the movie is all. 

The movie was paced very well. For a two hour movie, it felt like an hour and a half, maybe. That was a benefit of the quick changes in scenery. But part of the ending is so anti climactic (not spoilery), given there's so much tension, that I thought to myself "But what about the- aw nevermind" right as the film begins to wrap itself up. 

SPOILER: It's a giant middle finger to the audience when you show the men rushing out of a mine full of art to escape the Russians, you don't think they're going to make it, and then it dissolves to them driving away smiling, and a Russian officer smiling at an American flag. None of that makes sense.

The film fails to make its audience care about art and its place in our society. While yes, there's many scenes involving pieces being rescued or destroyed, they kind of glaze over why they're doing it. Yes, they want it to get it back to its rightful owners, that's understandable. But if Clooney, who also co-wrote the screenplay, had thrown in a lengthy monologue instead of the ten second one he gave at the beginning, he might have gotten the point across better.

This really was not a bad film, simply mediocre. Performances aren't really an issue, thought it feels a little phoned in given the little screen time of each actor. It seems like it was a lot more fun to make than to watch. Had they taken their time with the characters, it might have been worth the wait, but all we got was an artistic remake of "Saving Private Ryan" with a ton of "we're too old and smart to be in the army" humor that you will definitely not remember a week from now.

Rating: C