Melanie Griffith is am ambitious, quick-witted, German-speaking, young secretary at the Office of Strategic Services who is enlisted by her boss, Michael Douglas, and sent to Berlin to work for high-ranking Germans and uncover secrets concerning their V-2 rockets now being built at Penemunde. She winds up as a nanny in the employ of the sympatico Liam Neeson. She doesn't fall in love with Neeson, though the usual dramatic trajectory might seem to call for it, because her heart already belongs to Michael Douglas. He's too dumb to realize it. Berlin is full of agents and double agents. One of the latter plugs Griffith. She's rescued by Douglas and carried in his arms across the Swiss border with the details of the V-2 program concealed in her glove. Douglas and Griffith marry and live happily ever after.
None of the principals gives a bad performance but Neeson is perhaps the most interesting of the characters. His devotion to the party is suspected of being lukewarm and he's under suspicion by the Gestapo. Alas, he isn't on screen much and disappears completely as the climax approaches.
Most impressive is the evocation of the early years of the war. The make-up strikes us as garish. Berlin seems dark and ominous. The fashions and accouterments seem appropriate.
Griffith isn't bad. At least she's not embarrassing. Except for "Mulholland Falls," it may be her best performance. She's supposed to have learned German at her Jewish father's knee and have the accent of "a butcher's daughter," but she doesn't. She has an accent, but it's strictly an American accent. Speer's name comes out at "Shpear" instead of "Shpair." Diverting at first viewing, but not really worth seeking out.
None of the principals gives a bad performance but Neeson is perhaps the most interesting of the characters. His devotion to the party is suspected of being lukewarm and he's under suspicion by the Gestapo. Alas, he isn't on screen much and disappears completely as the climax approaches.
Most impressive is the evocation of the early years of the war. The make-up strikes us as garish. Berlin seems dark and ominous. The fashions and accouterments seem appropriate.
Griffith isn't bad. At least she's not embarrassing. Except for "Mulholland Falls," it may be her best performance. She's supposed to have learned German at her Jewish father's knee and have the accent of "a butcher's daughter," but she doesn't. She has an accent, but it's strictly an American accent. Speer's name comes out at "Shpear" instead of "Shpair." Diverting at first viewing, but not really worth seeking out.