Nuremberg ★★★★

Released: 14^th November 2025 

Director: James Vanderbilt 

Starring: Rami Malek, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Richard E Grant, Colin Hanks  

The Nuremberg trials have been depicted on film before, famously in 1961 with Judgment at Nuremberg. Nuremberg tells the story of the lead-up to the trials, ensuring they went ahead and gave the Nazi high command a fair trial and an opportunity to answer for their crimes. Based on the 2013 novel, The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, James Vanderbilt brings us this lesser-known story of psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) and his interactions with the upper echelons of the Nazi party, especially his meetings with Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe), Hitler’s deputy.  

We open with Göring’s capture and the war in Europe in its dying days, the Nazi high command eventually transferred to a US-run maximum security prison in Nuremberg, the bombed-out former stronghold of the German machine. The psychological component and heavy emphasis on the prison keep this from feeling like a stale imitation of previous WWII films.  

The performances do a lot of heavy lifting with the dialogue, which can be overly hammy. Yet Malek and Crowe are a formidable duo. Kelley is keen to write a book on his psych evaluations, while Crowe’s Göring is a towering presence both physically and psychologically, often one step ahead of his interrogators. Kelley comes to feel he knows Göring better than anyone else, and when the atrocities of the war come to light, he sees Göring in a different light. Leo Woodall is a fine foil as Sgt Howie Triest, a US soldier with a vested interest in the outcome of the trials. Meanwhile Michael Shannon, Richard E Grant and John Slattery are as dependable as we’ve come to expect.  

At 2 hrs 25 minutes, it’s far from short, but the pacing keeps us engaged, and the stakes and tension continue to increase throughout. Even though we of course know the outcome, it keeps us on our toes, bristling with drama. The use of real footage from the Concentration Camps and parallels to today’s society help to make this even more impactful and timely.  

Nuremberg is a well-oiled film that feels like a prestige piece of art from years gone by. Even though some subplots add little to the proceedings, the electric performances and dramatic tension make it a compelling watch that rarely feels its runtime. It is an informative look at a side of the war and trials that history has overlooked and contains some of Crowe and Malek’s best work in recent years, aided by a stellar supporting cast.