War Makes Strange Bedfellows- Literally-Brad Pitts’ Allied (2016)- A Film Review 

DVD Review

By Sam Lowell

Allied, starring Brad Pitts, Marion Cotillard, 2016  

No question Casablanca out in Morocco is a tough place, a tough dollar on wartime romances. Way back when we had Rick (Humphrey Bogart for those hopefully three people who have not seen the film) of Rick’s Café in that town when it was under Vichy control turning down his Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) just so Victor Lazlo (Paul Henreid) could have company doing his Nazi resistance work. And Rick left with nothing but a beautiful friendship with a corrupt gendarme (Claude Rains). Talking about how the problems of three humans didn’t match up to the big historic struggle going on in the world then. Now we have this Brad Pitts vehicle, Allied, where the romance between a British Empire commando (hey he was Canadian) and a French Resistance (yes capital R when you put that big movement together that harassed the Germans maybe not until they cried “uncle” but enough to warrant an “R”) heats up while doing their respective jobs. But Casablanca is only the jump off connecting point between the two films since the current film is a lot less patriotically-driven and in the end there will be no beautiful friendships but only sorrow and grief.

Here is the way this saga played out.  Max (Brad Pitts) a British Empire intelligence officer is sent to Casablanca in 1942 to assassinate the German ambassador to Vichy-controlled French Morocco. His cover is as a French civilian mining businessman who is supposed to married to a French National and underground Resistance fighter, Marianne (Marion Cotillard). They pull the kill off convincing everybody that they were deeply in love and by getting into an exclusive reception for the German ambassador through Marianne’s good offices. Along the way they really did fall in love (consummated in a torrid love scene in a car out in a desert violet wind sandstorm, nice touch) and after the success of the caper Max asked Marianne to go back to London with him and get married.         

Fair enough. The annals of commando/spy work have had any number of such outcomes when two people are working closely together. Marianne eventually get clearance to entry England, they marry and have a child (delivered during one of the German bombings of London). Then the wheels begin to fall off. Marianne through interrogation of a German prisoner is exposed by British intelligence be a German double agent despite her previous heroic actions. Naturally Max refuses to believe that information about his wife. Just as naturally he is warned off the investigation by his superiors. And just as naturally he goes out to prove the authorities wrong. But as an intelligence officer he does have his moments of doubt. In the end he gathers enough information to find that Marianne was indeed a double agent. At that point though he is ready to give up everything for love (and seemingly she him). She saves him the trouble though and does the honorable thing and commits suicide leaving their daughter to be raised by Max.

Yeah, no question stay the hell away from Casablanca if you are looking for a little romance. Maybe try Paris, okay. Not the greatest epic wartime romance (it would take a lot to beat out Casablanca for one thing) but very good and very evocative of the period (including Benny Goodman as background for the dancing at a party in London).