This was a failed piece of Oscar bait. It got a nomination for costume design but that was it. Max (Brad Pitt) is a Canadian espionage agent on assignment in Casablanca in 1942. His contact and partner is Marianne (Marion Cotillard). After completing their assignment, Max has Marianne transferred to London and they marry for real. A year later, however, Max is told that evidence is mounting that Marianne is actually a double agent for the Germans and the real French Resistance agent had died back in 1941. With an execution order hanging over her, Max desperately searches for ways to prove her innocence.
This was a depressing slog but I really think it was sunk by two major factors.
1. Both leads were too old for this role. Pitt was 53 when this was filmed and that is about 25 years too old for his character. Ideally, this would have gone to someone in their mid- to late 20s for any sense of realism. Cotillard was 41 but she could have been a little older than the male lead and still have maintained suspension of disbelief.
2. The CGI is godawful. All the backgrounds look too bright and fake. The very first scene of the movie is Pitt parachuting into the desert and it looks like he just lands in marshmallow. Robert Zemeckis loves CGI and motion-capture but I think he gets so caught up in the technical marvel of it that he over-relies on its abilities. He's still a great director but this is not going to be ranked with his successes.
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