Sadly, though, The Monuments Men fails to adequately celebrate these men and the arduous – almost impossible – task for which they were chosen. Directed by George Clooney and adapted from the book by Robert Edsel and Bret Witter, the movie suffers from myriad problems, from its poorly constructed screenplay to its uneven tone. Clooney, who has done some very fine directing work in the past, seems out of his depth, unsure of himself and the story he wants to tell.
During World War II, as he moved across Europe, Hitler began stealing any and all artwork that caught his eye. Amassing a collection that would make Charles Foster Kane jealous, he began hiding his treasures in secret locations as he built an art museum dedicated to himself. For our protagonist, art expert Frank Stokes (Clooney), this does not sit well, nor does the fact that both Allied and German bombs have wiped out countless works of art and architecture, collateral damage from the war. Stokes asks President Roosevelt to allow him to assemble a team of experts in hopes of rescuing some of the remaining artwork that hasn’t (yet) been destroyed.
Stokes’ team consists of a museum curator, James Granger (Matt Damon); an architect, Richard Campbell (Bill Murray); a sculptor, Walter Garfield (John Goodman); a professor of art, Jean Claude Clermont (Jean Dujardin); a British aristocrat, Donald Jeffries (Hugh Bonneville); and a know-it-all, Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban). After completing basic training in England, the men are officially given the status of officers in the United States military. Fanning across the European battlefields, they get to work searching out the troves of artwork as they race against the advancing Russians who feel they deserve the artwork as reparations for the damage done to their country.
Clooney’s work as a director has been hit and miss. Clooney is great at drama, not so good with comedy. Good Night, and Good Luck and The Ides of March, both serious films, are two of the finest dramatic films in the last decade, each directed with composure and understated skill. Both are driven by a compelling story and excellent performances, leaving a strong impact on the audience. On the other hand, Clooney also directed the train wrecks that were Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Leatherheads, comedies that didn’t work for too many reasons to count. The Monuments Men can be considered a comedy (with moments of seriousness) and as such falls into the Clooney Comedy bin which has yet to achieve any success.
The primary problem for the film is the screenplay, adapted by Clooney and his writing/producing partner Grant Heslov. The story of what these men accomplished is more suited to and deserving of a television miniseries, a format that would give the events and characters room to develop and breathe. As a two-hour movie, the plot is contrived and rushed, with one-liners substituting for character development. Clooney tries to give each of the men equal screen time, but that just isn’t possible within the constraints of the reality of what happened. Struggling with this restriction, Clooney can never decide if he’s making a buddy comedy or a serious, team-on-a-mission war movie. The tone shifts from one scene to the next throughout the film, leaving the audience off-balance as we’re not sure whether to laugh or applaud.
The Monuments Men is a mess of a movie, the blame for which lies squarely on Clooney’s shoulders. Despite an incredibly talented cast and a sometimes-impressive director, the film falls flat and fails to sufficiently honor these men and what they did.
Grade: C-
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