During WWII, the fighting is putting valuable art work in harms way: destroyed by the war or looted by the German soldiers. American Frank Stokes (Clooney) convinces the president that the art needs to be protected and returned to their rightful owners. He assembles a team of 7 artists and art historians to enlist in the army and find the Nazis stash of art. His team consists of Metropolitan Museum of Art curator James Granger (Damon), engineer Richard Campbell (Murray), sculpture Walter Garfield (Goodman), art historian Preston Savitz (Balaban), British drunk Donald Jeffries (Bonneville), and French Jen Claude Clermont (Dujardin). They are soon joined by Sam Epstein (Leonidas), who serves as their German translator.
They split into groups to cover the most ground. Granger is sent to France to connect with Claire Simone (Blanchett) who has information about where the Germans have stored the art. The rest are at the front lines trying to convince the Allied soldiers to allow them access to the art. With the end of the war in sight, they have to race against the Russians to reach the art first. Can they accomplish their mission?
I was excited about this film from the first time I heard about it. It is an interesting story and comes from actual events. With George Clooney in the directors chair, I had high hopes for the film (this is his 5th time in the directors chair), and the all-star cast didn't hurt. I saw the film with a good friend, and we loved it. It was a nice mix of serious and humor. But apparently many critics were less impressed.
The film is based on the book "The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History" by Robert M. Edsel, which is a true story. Edsel interviewed many of the men and women who were Monuments Men to record their story. The book sounds very interesting, and it is no surprise that this story sparked the attention of Hollywood.
Clooney and Grant Heslov wrote and produced the film and filled it with great actors. Each of the actors works well in their role and has a strong presence in the film. They work well together and in small groups. Cate Blanchett is the only female character (there are others, but she has a name and personality and screen time), and holds her own among her male co-stars. It was nice to see Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville on screen, and playing a very different character. I also appreciated Jean Dujardin, who I loved in The Artist and in the OSS 117 films.
It was an intriguing story, and perhaps some things could be done better... but it was an enjoyable (and historical) film.
The Monuments Men (2014) 118 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for some images of war violence and historical smoking
Director: George Clooney
Starring: George Clooney as Frank Stokes
Matt Damon as James Granger
Bill Murray as Richard Campbell
John Goodman as Walter Garfield
Jean Dujardin as Jean Claude Clermont
Bob Balaban as Preston Savitz
Hugh Bonneville as Donald Jeffries
Cate Blanchett as Claire Simone
Dimitri Leonidas as Sam Epstein
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