There are three things you should know about me:
- I’ve always loved Brad Pitt.
- I’m intrigued by any book, movie, or documentary that deals with World War II.
- I’ve always loved Brad Pitt.
Allied, starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, is a story of two Allied secret agents who meet in North Africa. Pitt plays Max Vatan, a Canadian Royal Air Force commander sent to Casablanca to take care of some Nazis, and Cotillard plays Marianne Beauséjour, a French Resistance agent who assists Max with making his cover story seem plausible.
Even though Max and Marianne find themselves embroiled in a top secret mission, their dedication to their dangerous task can’t stand in the way of their attraction to one another. The on-screen chemistry between Pitt and Cotillard was downright sultry. The way that Pitt’s character was mesmerized by Cotillard’s character, especially when her face burst into a dazzling smile, felt so real, making me wonder was it Pitt entranced by Cotillard or his character bewitched by hers?
After mastering their objective, the steamy pair find themselves unwilling to part ways, and Max moves Marianne to London to become his bride. Marianne becomes the happy homemaker while Max works to defeat the Axis powers. While the world around them is full of fighting and hostility, the home they’ve created is full of intimacy. (I’ll admit that I was more than pleased to catch a glimpse of Brad Pitt’s tushy. Have I mentioned I’m a huge fan of his?)
Up until this point in this review I have purposely not revealed anything that isn’t in Allied’s trailer for I have no wish to spoil anything for anyone. Continuing with that mindset I will only share that their sweet yet sensual relationship faces a huge hurdle when Max is told some unbelievable information at work, making him question everything he holds near and dear to his heart. Viewers will be find themselves wondering what Max will do, and hoping that Marianne is in fact the happy wife and mother he loves.
The movie definitely kept my interest the whole time even though it felt a little slow-moving at times. While I always find World War II dramas stimulating, this film wasn’t necessarily as griping as I had imagined it would be even though I thoroughly enjoyed it. Certain aspects of the film felt unnecessary, including Brad Pitt’s sister’s role, which really added nothing to the story and felt like a forced attempt to include a same sex relationship during the 1940s. While the “f-word” doesn’t offend me, I found myself wondering if people during that time period actually used that word as much as the characters in the film did. Because much of the story takes place in London, it seems like they should have used the word “bloody” (pronounced blut-EE) as an expletive more often instead.
My husband Mike, who loved Brad Pitt in the World War II film Inglorious Basterds, attended the movie with me. His assessment of Allied was, “It was good, but I wouldn’t say it was great. I didn’t feel like I wasted my time seeing it, but seeing it once was enough.” Mike commented how effective the director, Robert Zemeckis, used sound, filling the voids of conversations with expertly selected distractions such as the ticking of a clock, which I agreed was an insightful observation. (That’s why I love Mike even more than I love Brad Pitt.)
Movie times: click here
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Actors: Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard
Rating: R for violence, some sexuality/nudity, language and brief drug use
Running Time: 2 hours 4 minutes
