IF WAR IS HELL THEN WHAT COMES AFTER?
In 1945, reporter Jacob Geismer (George Clooney) arrives in Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference but is drawn into a murder mystery involving a former lover (Cate Blanchett). Director Steven Soderbergh’s film noir may have dialogue and a degree of violence that is inconsistent with old 1940s movies, but everything else is done exactly the way some contract director at Warners would in those days. Shot in black-and-white on the studio back lot, with typical film noir themes and a romantic but intriguing music score, it is an interesting, cynical tale. Unfortunately, one is never fully engaged in the characters.
2006-U.S. 107 min. B/W. Directed, photographed and edited byĀ Steven Soderbergh. Screenplay: Paul Attanasio. Novel: Joseph Kanon. Music: Thomas Newman. Cast: George Clooney (Jacob Geismer), Cate Blanchett (Lena Brandt), Tobey Maguire (Patrick Tully), Beau Bridges, Tony Curran, Leland Orser.
