by Foster Harlfinger, Contributing Writer
Munich: The Edge of War is one of those films that will appeal most strongly to a certain demographic, namely 50-plus-year-old men whose hobbies include purchasing (and occasionally reading) biographies on notable figures from World War II. Based on the novel from Robert Harris, the film offers a fictionalized account of the events leading up to the 1938 Munich Agreement in which France, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom agreed to the cession of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany. This was done with the understanding that one Adolf Hitler would refrain from further territorial expansion in favor of more peaceful negotiations moving forward, though we all know how that went.
In spite of its generic title and undesirable status as a soon-to-be-forgotten January Netflix release, The Edge of War is a surprisingly compelling historical drama with three excellent leading performances. Casting Jeremy Irons as Neville Chamberlain almost feels like a no-brainer. While not as showy a performance as Gary Oldman’s Oscar-winning turn in Darkest Hour, Irons has been a consistently top-notch performer for decades, and his work in this film is no exception. Chamberlain’s decision to enter the Munich Agreement has often been criticized as a failed attempt at appeasing Hitler’s expansionist tendencies, but director Christian Schwochow’s film presents a more optimistic view of the Agreement. The film puts forth the argument that Chamberlain’s decision “enabled Britain and her Allies to prepare for war and ultimately led to Germany’s defeat.” While this stance will surely ruffle the feathers of many history buffs, the film’s fictional components rarely detract from its depiction of true events, some of which will inevitably lead you to draw comparisons to our modern-day political climate.
Beyond the confident portrayal of Britain’s Prime Minister from Irons, George MacKay and Jannis Niewöhner deliver equally captivating performances as our two leads. MacKay stars as a British civil servant with increasingly close access to Chamberlain, while Niewöhner portrays a German diplomat who secretly plots against the Nazi party. Though the characters themselves were created for the novel on which the film is based, the relationship between these two men acts as the driving force of the story. Their dynamic results in the most compelling sequences of the film, including one particularly tense scene in a Nazi-filled pub.
Where the film falters, however, is the narrow focus of its script and ultimate forgetability. There are memorable moments, to be sure, though I doubt the finer plot details will be retained by most audience members within a few weeks. The Edge of War feels very much like a film that would be directed by modern-era Steven Spielberg à la Bridge of Spies or The Post, though the filmmaking itself is not quite as impressive. The cinematography, costumes, and production design are all solid, though they never break away from the typical Hollywood-ized wartime aesthetic you have seen in dozens of other period piece films.
If you are a fan of historical dramas, The Edge of War is absolutely worth a watch. There is enough to appreciate in terms of the performances and dramatic tension, and if you enjoy a good World War II-era thriller, The Edge of War might be right up your alley. However, if you found yourself nodding off in films like Bridge of Spies or Darkest Hour, this might not be the film for you.
Grade: B-
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