NUREMBERG

Directed and written by James Vanderbilt

Starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek

Running time: 148 minutes

Adapted from The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai

In Nuremberg, filmmaker James Vanderbilt revisits one of history’s most pivotal trials — and one of its most chilling moral confrontations. Based on Jack El-Hai’s acclaimed nonfiction book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, the film explores the uneasy relationship between Hermann Göring, the captured Nazi Reichsmarschall, and Douglas M. Kelley, the American psychiatrist assigned to evaluate him before the Nuremberg Trials.

What unfolds is less a traditional courtroom drama than a psychological duel — a battle of words and willpower between a man who masterminded atrocity and another who seeks to understand, perhaps even outthink, him.

Russell Crowe delivers a forceful, layered performance as Göring, portraying him not as a one-dimensional villain but as a dangerously charismatic manipulator. Critics have praised how Crowe captures the unsettling magnetism of a man who can rationalize the unimaginable — reminding audiences that evil often hides behind civility.

Rami Malek provides a controlled and compelling counterpoint as Dr. Kelley, whose fascination with Göring borders on obsession. Their tense, often claustrophobic exchanges drive the film, transforming the interrogation room into a chamber of moral reckoning.

Shot with meticulous attention to period detail, Nuremberg evokes the somber mood of post-war Europe. Vanderbilt’s direction blends courtroom precision with psychological tension, weaving archival imagery and carefully staged drama into a portrait of a world struggling to define justice after catastrophe.

While some viewers may find the film’s pacing deliberate and its emotional tone restrained, Nuremberg compensates with craft, intelligence, and a steady moral focus. The ensemble cast and production design lend the story both authenticity and gravity.

Beyond its historical frame, Nuremberg speaks directly to contemporary anxieties about power, ideology, and accountability. The film asks whether humanity truly learns from its darkest chapters—or whether the same forces of prejudice and complacency still linger beneath the surface.

Nuremberg is a thoughtful, impeccably crafted historical drama anchored by two commanding performances. It may not chase spectacle, but it delivers something rarer: a probing examination of conscience and complicity that resonates far beyond its 1940s setting.

For audiences drawn to films that combine historical insight with psychological intensity, Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg offers both a riveting experience and a haunting reflection on the cost of justice.