Nuremberg On Trial

A surprise pick led us straight into the chambers of history. We take you through Nuremberg, a boldly acted courtroom drama that pits a meticulous psychiatrist against a master manipulator, and we talk about how a film with this much craft can still leave you conflicted as the credits roll. Russell Crowe’s chilling charisma and Rami Malek’s measured intensity power a story that asks what it means to study evil without being seduced by it—and whether justice can feel complete when the human cost is beyond measure.

We dig into the film’s unusual rhythm: a light, almost playful early tone anchored in razor-sharp dialogue, then a hard pivot into the moral gravity of the trials with stark images and a rush of consequence. That shift will divide audiences. Some will see a necessary shock that strips away distance; others will feel blindsided and wish the film had built weight more gradually. We also unpack the final stretch: a politically charged coda and a bleak character outcome that undercuts the courtroom’s hard-won verdicts. The conversation turns to what the movie could have done differently—ending in the courtroom, centering the verdicts, and letting the history speak without the extra nudge.

Along the way, we highlight the ensemble’s strength—Michael Shannon’s steady presence, a compelling supporting arc from a soldier with roots in Germany, and the film’s tight staging of interrogations as moral chess. We also explore a path the movie hints at but doesn’t follow: the chaplaincy and forgiveness story at the edge of atrocity, a perspective that could frame justice and repentance without softening accountability. Our ratings land at 3.5/5 and 4/5, carried by exceptional performances and an energetic middle act, with points off for an ending that feels both heavy-handed and emotionally deflating.

Stream the full review, then tell us where you landed: powerful cautionary tale or missed opportunity with a great cast? If you’re enjoying the show, follow, share with a friend, and leave a quick review so more film fans can find The Couch Critics.

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Chapters

• 0:09 Opening Jingle And Welcome
• 0:45 Surprise Pick: Nuremberg Announced
• 1:48 Plot Setup And Cast Overview
• 3:07 First Impressions And Personal History
• 4:19 Performances And On‑Screen Dynamics
• 6:23 Tone Shifts And Brutal Final Act
• 8:10 Politics And The Controversial Ending
• 10:36 Faith, Forgiveness, And Alternative Angles
• 12:10 Final Takeaways And Star Ratings
• 13:06 What’s Next On The Couch Critics

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:09

Press play, it's a brand new day. We're diving deep in the film's all away. From classics to the ones you miss. Grab your stacks, you get the gist. It's denominate on the couch, critics show. Where the story shine and the attendance flow. Pop points out the take the bow. We laugh, we cry, we break the mold. It's denominate Sunday. Let the critics roll.

SPEAKER_02: 0:45

Hello everyone and welcome to another Cinema Sunday episode of The Couch Critics.

SPEAKER_03: 0:52

I'm your host, Nathan. On today's episode, it's not just me, have my good friend Thomas. Hey Thomas, how are you? Hey Nathan, I'm doing good. At long last, I finally have my microphone working. So good. That means all listeners can hear you crystal clear. Yep. That's hope. Let's hope. So today we're talking about a surprise movie. I didn't even post anything on our social media, mostly because I kind of forgot to do it, but also because I wanted to be a big surprise. Because we're talking about Nuremberg. I think I said that right, right? Nuremberg? Yep. Nuremberg. Yeah. The new movie about the Nuremberg trials. If you don't know what those are, those were the trials of like the 20-something Nazi leaders, people who followed Hitler. They put them on trial for what they did during the Holocaust. So that is what this movie is all about. So we can talk about it, but before we talk about it, I have to go over the synipsis.

SPEAKER_02: 1:53

A World War II psychiatrist evaluates Nazi leaders before the Nuremberg trials, growing increasingly obsessed with understanding evil as he forms a disturbing bond with Herman Goring.

SPEAKER_03: 2:07

Nuremberg stars Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Rami Malek, and Lydia Peckham. And it also has like a pretty a pretty good cast of other people too. Like the guy from the guy from Mad Men, John Slattery. He's in this. And at first I thought it was like a fathom events kind of thing. Like because it's very I would say very artsy kind of film. Like it seemed it it's filmed like an independent film, but even though it has a pretty pretty stacked cast with it. And so I saw the trailer for it, and I already was kind of cautiously optimistic about it because I wasn't sure, especially the time that it's being released, I wasn't sure where they're gonna go with it. But Thomas invited me to go see it, and so we went to go see it. So before I give my thoughts on it, Thomas, what were your first thoughts when you heard about this film? So I'm a history major, absolutely love history. So I was just looking through the AMC list of movies. I had no idea that this was even coming out. I hadn't heard anything about it on social media or anything like that. But I was really excited. So when I was 14, my great aunt lives in Germany. So I had the opportunity to actually go visit her. And I remember she took me to the museum. Uh, she and my great uncle took me to the museum to see Nuremberg. And when I saw this, it brought back that memory. I was like, oh my gosh, I have to see this movie and kind of get a closer look at the history because I hadn't really, it's one of those things I hadn't really thought about in a long time, but it's it's really fascinating. Yeah, and when Thomas told me about this, I was kind of convicted about seeing it because I'll conflicted about seeing it because my wife is actually a big fan of like movies based on true stories and movies based on history. So when I told her about it, I'm like, babe, honestly, I think you might be interested in this movie too. But after seeing it, I don't know how much she would have enjoyed it, but that's getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about the great things about this movie because there really are a lot of really great things about this movie. The first and foremost is the acting in it. Again, this is a very stacked cast. You have Russell Crowe, which Thomas and I talked about this after the movie. I think he is very underrated, especially nowadays, because obviously he did Gladiator, he did A Beautiful Mind, he did all those classic Russell Crowe movies, but even recently he's been in some pretty, pretty good films. I was talking about the the I can't even remember what the name of the movie is, which probably says something about it. But he plays a guy who's like a deranged guy who has really bad road rage. And if you're listening and you know what that movie is, please send me a message on our social medias and let me know. But it is it's called Unhinged, Unhinged. And and yes, his character is completely unhinged in that movie, and it's it's a very dark movie, it goes places that you wouldn't think it would, but his performance is really, really good in it. And this movie, I think he just knocks that out of the park. I think he does a great job. He he has gained some weight, and so that kind of goes with the character that he's playing. But in the, I mean, even the other actors in this movie do a really good job. So I have to ask Thomas, what did you think of the acting in this film? No, I agree. Well, beyond everything else, what made this film great was the dynamic between Russell Crowe and Rami Malik. Just two phenomenal actors. I think either one of them could win an Oscar for this, should should at least be considered. And like you said, the supporting cast was really strong too. You had some big names, Michael Shannon. Colin Hanks, who I just found out is the son of Tom Hanks, and he did a really good job, so it makes sense. So that so that's cool. So we had Tom Hanks for you know all these decades, and now we might just have his son for more decades. So it was it was phenomenal. There wasn't a single actor that I didn't like. Yeah, and but another thing, like going off of that, another thing I was kind of worried about, especially nowadays with like Disney movies that do this, they take their villains and they try to make you sympathetic for them. I was worried, really worried that this movie was kind of trying to do that, but but but they don't. But I mean, there were moments we were like, what are they are they what are they doing? But I will say, kind of spoilering what the negatives of this movie, I didn't really like the ending of this film, and I also didn't really like I don't know what I'm trying to say. It it it there's a very I mean obviously it's based on a true story, so kind of going to spoil spoiler territory a little bit about what happens to the real psychiatrist in real life, it's a pretty depressing ending for this movie. For a film that I think could have had, especially with the outcome of the trial. I mean, obviously, Herman Goring, I'm assuming in real life, really did commit suicide before his hanging. Spoiler. But other than that, I mean, the the outcome of the trial was a was one of triumph, I I think, because they were all found guilty, they were all going to be put to death, and it still ended very depressing. I mean, would you would you I mean, we saw the same movie, so I'm assuming you you probably thought the same thing. So I felt the same way. And what was odd about it is that it it felt very light early on, and I don't know if that's was their intention to kind of ramp it up, but for so much of the movie, it was playful. It was, you know, this guy is one of the most evil guys on the planet, and you do kind of like him, j just in terms of early on with his dynamics and uh he's charming, and and there is that it doesn't feel crazy. And then suddenly, around the time of the trial, it goes from zero to a hundred really quick, and then it's like, okay, now we're showing all these images. This guy's a monster, the two characters are screaming at each other. You know, one of one of the people it literally shows his hanging, really, really graphic. And I think what they could have I I don't I don't know, it kind of worked, it kind of didn't work because you didn't feel that weight at all during the movie, and then that last 10 minutes, it just all piles on you at once. So so it was it, it was interesting. It was an interesting feeling walking out of the theater. Yeah, and I think it kind of goes with because the psychiatrist's a character, he he shows himself off as kind of like a magician, and so it was like a kind of quick, a quick hand from like you said, the lightness of at the beginning to like you know, oh, look over here, something shiny, and then it kind of just gets your focus away from what is actually happening, and so maybe that was a choice, and if it was, I it wasn't a bad choice, but at the same time, it's like you want to feel some sort of relief and triumph of about what just happened, and then they just leave you with, oh yeah, by the way, this guy kills himself the exact same way that Herman Goring did in prison, and so yeah, it just and then the biggest kind of eye roll was what I was afraid of when I saw the trailer. I was very afraid that it was going to be very much politically motivated, and I gotta be careful because I'm I'm assuming there might be people listening that are on both sides of the political aisle. But to me, it was very again out of out of nowhere in the context of the movie. Now, when you watch the trailer, again, I watched the trailer trailer and I kind of got an idea of maybe that's where they were going. But then I watched the movie and I was like, well, maybe not. I mean, there's some lines in him in it that you can some people would probably use and say, Oh see, this is just like how it is today. But it wasn't like over your head until the very end. And then I felt like that one scene at the end, they're kind of hitting you, hitting you over the head with it. And it was just again, that kind of left a bad taste in my mouth at the end of this movie. That again, I think should have really focused on the victory of finding all these horrible people guilty of all the atrocities that they did, as opposed to trying to relate it to nowadays, where people compare our president now to these atrocities that happened so many years ago. And I really liked what you said, Thomas, that when people compare it to that, well, I'll let you finish because you're the one who said it. Yeah, so so that's exactly what we were talking about in the parking lot. Part of the reason that didn't work, it felt like a kind of a checked box of, oh, here's our political messaging at the end, which I appreciate that 90% of the movie did not feel like any political message was getting shoved down your throat. It was art, it was looking at a couple historical characters and presenting their story in an artistic way. Right at the end, he's talking, and and it's very clearly alluding to oh, there's people in America who think just the way these evil men thought, and and this could happen anywhere, this could happen in America. And the reason it didn't land is because five minutes before you saw videos of one of the most horrific tragedies and acts of evil in world history, and now you have a guy five minutes later is sitting on a radio show saying this could happen in America too. So it whatever you feel about the political message that was put forward, it didn't land at all. I'm not too bothered by it because it was such a half-hearted effort, anyway. It was just a weird little scene at the end. Yeah, it really was like a throwaway. It was like, well, I mean, how can we put this in here? I know, let's just put him on a radio show and talk about his failed book. And then right after that, it it tells you everything that happened to all these real people, including the psychiatrist, which I said before, he ended up killing himself. And so, because no one and and and no and and basically worded it in a way like everyone ignored his warnings, and so he went and killed himself. I'm like, what? What are you talking? I mean, yes, it's sad that he he got to a point where he felt like he was he was nothing and he was, you know, he his his life didn't serve a purpose, which kind of goes with, and again, I don't know how real all this was because you know Hollywood, you know, likes to change stuff, but it it was kind of creepy that Herman Guring kind of predicted what happened to this guy and predicted what happened to himself as well. And so, yeah, I just think this movie could have done really, really well because I mean I don't know how well it's doing in the box office. Like you said, probably not a lot of people even knew it came out. So I I just wish it just stayed with the the the out-of-the-park acting performances and just ended in a more hopeful, triumphant way, because I really think that that's what this story deserves because because of how you know horror horrible the things that happen to these people. And it kind of takes me to the person that I I I shared with Thomas earlier before we recorded today, because I'm a Christian, so I was doing a devotional this morning, and just ironically, the person in the devotional I was listening to was Henry Gehrick, Garrika or something. And he was a he was a basically a minister who went to did like prison ministries and stuff like that, and he actually ministered to all 20-something of these Nazi people, and I think it said six out of the 20 actually asked for forgiveness before they're hanging. Now, a lot of people may poo-poo that and say, How could how could God forgive someone who did all those atrocities? Well, because God is a loving God and He wants everyone to turn back to Him and repent for all their sins, no matter how horrible they are. And so I was telling Thomas, I'm like, this is a guy who they should make a movie about. And if Angel Studios is listening, Angel Studios, you should make a movie about this guy. Seriously. I mean, talk about going into the lion's den. And yeah, it's I I think that would be a crazy uplifting film, but that's not the film we watched. We watched Nuremberg. And so, do you have any final thoughts before we rate this thing? Yeah, I think I'm very much in agreement. I mean, Douglas Kelly certainly deserved this movie made about him, so I'm glad it happened. But like you said, I think along those lines, if if they did one for Henry Gurecki, it would be equally compelling and powerful, especially because in both instances they didn't volunteer for it. They were told by the military, like, hey, this is what you have to do. So for a chaplain to be put in that position, even the most evil, even people who have done the most evil things, we are still called to evangelize to them as Christians. And he was given that opportunity. He could have said no, but he said somebody has to do it, so I'm gonna do it. And then you leave the rest to God, really, you know. And I would say this movie, what it did well, it did extremely well. And I think it could have ended in the courtroom, and I think the courtroom scene could have been much more dramatized, much more built up, and you end there, and that's a positive culmination. I think it tried to do too much at once, so I was happy with it, but it's a sort of movie that has you scratching your head about some of these stray, stray themes that never really get covered. Yeah, so overall good, but not what it could have been. Yeah. And and I think I guess Douglas Kelly uh his the character was very compelling. I'm I'm not I'm not knocking the fact that the movie was was centered around him. I think I I think the movie could have been centered around Howie, Howie Tristel, the sergeant, who you find out later in the film is actually from Germany. And you know, I I his story was really, really compelling because this whole time you you didn't know that about him. And that's why he's so invested in what's going on with these trials. And so there are other characters that I think it could have been focused on. I think the fact that it was focused on Douglas Kelly was obviously the main focus was the relationship between him and Russell Crowe's character. But the fact that they ended the movie with such a depressing note is is just what take took me out of the film ultimately. So that is Nuremberg. If you want to go see it, go see it. If you're history buff like Thomas is, if you're history buff like my wife is too, you might enjoy it for what it is. Again, the performances were great, the story was compelling, it's based on true events, and so yeah, you can't go wrong with that, but that ending though is just so Thomas, what would you give Normberg? So I think it had a lot of issues that could have made it a lower star, but because of how well acted it was, with all the characters, like you mentioned, the Sergeant Triest or Sergeant Trist, however you say his last name, that was a beautiful, beautiful emotional scene when he basically tells Douglas Kelly, like, you know, the reason that this was able to happen is because good men didn't and women didn't stand up and fight back, and then he inspires them to fight back. So that was there were so many beautiful moments, so much strong acting. I'd give it a 3.5 out of five stars. Worth a watch, but certainly not a perfect movie. Yeah, I think because of Russell Crowe's performance alone, and and I know I don't know how some people might see that because he plays the big bad Nazi guy, but I think his performance was just so good. And him and I keep on saying his name wrong, so I'm not even gonna try to say it. The psychiatrist guy, I think they they played off each other really, really, really well. And Michael Shannon was really good. Like again, all these performances were really, really good, which is why it's such a shame the ending was what it was. And so for that, I'm actually gonna give it a little bit higher, but just based off the performances alone. I'm gonna give it a four out of five stars for Nuremberg. So that is our thoughts on that film. This Tuesday coming up. No, not Tuesday, not Tuesday, Thursday. I changed it. Releasing episodes on Thursdays and Sundays. So this Thursday, I'm taking on, and I don't know, somebody else might join me, Little Women. There's been a plethora of versions of this film. I'm doing the Greta Gerwig version, so we'll see how that one is. Never seen it before. And then next cinema Sunday, I was gonna go see the new running man, but I've heard terrible reviews about it. So I don't know. I might, I don't know. It might be another surprise. Who knows?

SPEAKER_02: 20:03

I don't know.

SPEAKER_03: 20:04

So that's what's going on on The Couch Critics, where every movie gets its close-up.

SPEAKER_01: 20:11

It's Cinema Sunday with a duck begin.