Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Ocean’s 11, 12, 13)

Starring George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Beau Bridges

IMDB Synopsis: “While in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, an American military journalist is drawn into a murder investigation which involves his former mistress and his driver.”

I watched this last week, but haven’t had a chance to post it until now. It was an enjoyable watch. I don’t know exactly how it came about, but in this film Soderbergh decided to challenge himself to make a film using the same standard equipment as a film in the 1940s. IMDB Trivia says, “Steven Soderbergh, wishing to shoot this film the old Hollywood way, banned the use of sophisticated zoom lenses used by today’s cinematographers, returning to the fixed focal-length lenses used in the past. Furthermore, only incandescent lights were used which provided harsh, unnatural lighting. There were also no wireless body microphones, which would allow the faintest whispers to be heard, on set. Sound was recorded the old-fashioned way, with a hand-operated boom mike held above the actors head, which consequently forced the actors to speak in loud, crisp English.”

The result of this experiment is very interesting. Seeing a film of the old Hollywood style with contemporary leads gives an odd feeling. I thought they pulled it off though. It’s not the greatest film in the world, but Cate Blanchett is excellent and George Clooney is good too.

6.5/10