Yes. It met my expectation and provided entertainment. I like stories that dance around actual history. Always good to see Christopher Plummer, and Jai Courtney naked is an added bonus. Lilly James is very appealing in this role. I bought into the premise that the Kaiser and soldier would see her as a person worth helping.

@TrentTX said:

Yes. It met my expectation and provided entertainment. I like stories that dance around actual history. Always good to see Christopher Plummer, and Jai Courtney naked is an added bonus. Lilly James is very appealing in this role. I bought into the premise that the Kaiser and soldier would see her as a person worth helping.

Thanks. I went ahead and watched the movie anyway. It wasn't what I expected either. I expected more action, yet it was a romantic drama/thriller. What I didn't like was the plot. I just didn't know what the story was about. Was it about the Kaiser or was it a love story between the spy and the Nazi solider with the political strain between the Third Reich and the Kaiser as the backdrop? Who was the main character- Captain Brant, Kaiser or Mieke? There should only be one main character in this because it isn't an ensemble.

As a love story, I wasn't as engaged as I was with the thrill elements in the film. I would have liked more mystery about the identity of the spy, like reveal her in the second act instead of from the beginning. Their love wasn't believable. It looked to me like a purely sexual relationship, no romance at all. How could Brandt court Mieke when copulation between the guards and the servants were against the rules?

And their scenes together had no romantic dialog whatsoever. Although Jai's performance was very convincing. He looked ad if he loved Meike. Lily's performance was good as well. She was able to carryoff an innocence as well as a cold calculating demeanor. I remember thinking about her sex appeal and confidence during their first love scene together. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing, but later on that confidence seemed to fade away as she just was indecisive about her mission and everything Meike does afterward is just a plot device to develop Captain Brandt's character. I wanted more from Captain Brandt but they don't give him much to do in saving her because so much of the film focuses on the Kaiser and his wife, so it's like the film tried the romance but decided to abandon romance in the second act in order to add more scenes in the thriller genre. Instead of Meike telling Brandt to not try to save her, for him to just carry out his orders, they should have just showed Brandt playing both sides for her without her consent. That would have shown his motivations as love/ romance and not look so scripted. You know?

And still no main character either. Too much screen time on the Kaiser.

Although I was very impressed with Christopher Plummer's performance. He carries the film. That's for sure. I'm unsure of how authentic his German accent sounded. The rest of his performance was brilliant. Very strong on screen presence. Janet McTeer (Princess Hermine) was. also very good in her supporting role.

I also thought about that classical music song playing in the background during Jai and Lily's first love scene. Do you know the title of that song?

My knowledge of classical music is limited. I did not recognize any of the songs. Agree with your assessment completely.

also agree with this assessment, particularly with regards to their relationship, which starts with a rape and ends with a marriage proposal, with only about 5 sexual encounters charting their entire 'romance'. That single-handedly undermined most of the film for me, though I did enjoy the overall experience despite that and other weaknesses. Plummer is a giant.