Years ago, I was cornered at Rogers Centre by Canadians. I described this moment in Captain America: The Adventure Begins or Whatever. In essence, I was asked to explain (on behalf of the United States movie-making industry) why Canadians are always ignored in films about WWII. “Did we not fight the Nazis? Did we not land at Omaha Beach on D-Day, eh?” And yet, Hollywood has, indeed, largely ignored Canadian inclusion among the Allied powers of WWII. Not anymore, hosers! Here’s a film stating definitively that Canada not only participated, they were so Allied, they would ask you to murder your Nazi-sympathetic spouse if it came to that. They were very polite about it, of course; they’re Canadian.
Ok, so, yeah, it’s hard to buy that premise. Not that Canadians participated in WWII. They did. Once and for all, they did, and they fought bravely alongside Americans, Brits, French, Russians and all the other Allied nations. The far-fetched part is that murdering your enemy-sympathetic spouse is a thing. They even seemed to have terms and protocol for this like it’s a common occurrence: “Oh, sure, that’s a ‘blue dot.’ Suck it up, soldier, we all have to consider killing our spouses in the name of duty at some point or another … why just last week, I had to kill my wife. The kids didn’t take it well. Going to be a lean Christmas in Ottawa this year.”
Wing Commander Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) actually dreams of Medicine Hat, Alberta. This bit of personal info isn’t revealed until he meets his Moroccan contact, French resistance officer Marianne Beauséjour (Marion Cotillard). They actually meet in a Casablanca night club in 1942 – I was looking for a marquee reading “Rick’s American Café,” but no such luck. Marianne has to get him up to speed in local customs and turn his Quebec accent Parisian in a matter of days. I don’t exactly how many couples formed in the 1940s inspired by mowing down Nazis together, perhaps fewer than reported, but this is how Marianne and Max become “Miramax.”
Two years after the events in North Africa, Wing Commander Max gets that call from the Canadian brass. You know, the one we all dread. It goes something like, “oh, btw, that woman who helped you kill Nazis in Casablanca … who you married and have a child with … yeah, 
her, you know the one? She’s a secret Nazi. We’re going to prove it and then you have to kill her.” What exactly do you say to that? Turning on relatives is never a symptom of a good cause; it’s something one generally associates with totalitarianism or even the Nazi regime being opposed here.
Ok, so, if you can get by the premise, this is a pretty good film. The last two Robert Zemeckis pictures, The Walk and Flight, each had one awesome extended scene bolstering two hours of screen padding. Allied lacked the big CGI extravaganza dominating the other two films, but was a much better overall package. You will sympathize with Max Vatan’s dilemma; you will wonder constantly if Marianne Beauséjour is really Mme Freedomfighter or Frau Krautenheimer. There’s some great tension behind these scenes. Brad Pitt’s recent personal real life breakup (over “spousal betrayal”) certainly didn’t hurt in the audience speculation portion of this film. Were the premise a tad more believable, I might put this film among the year’s best. As is, it entertained, but will not make the honorable mention roll call of 2016.
♪I got a gal who is my mate
Can’t tell if she’s aligned with hate
But I love her, yes I love her
Don’t remember her past, but wait
Did she teach the baby to goose step straight?
I gotta know here. I’m gonna ask her
Is you is or is you ain’t a Nazi?
The way my boss is acting gives me doubt
Did you sing “La Marseillaise” in Turkey?
Or are you just a lying, stinking Kraut?♫
Rated R, 124 Minutes
D: Robert Zemeckis
W: Steven Knight
Genre: Spousal interrogation
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Proud Canadians
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Marriage counselors
♪ Parody inspired by “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t (My Baby)”
