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Allied (film)

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Allied
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Zemeckis
Written bySteven Knight
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDon Burgess
Edited by
Music byAlan Silvestri
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • November 9, 2016 (2016-11-09) (Regency Village Theatre)
  • November 23, 2016 (2016-11-23) (United States)
  • November 25, 2016 (2016-11-25) (United Kingdom)
Running time
124 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$85 million[2]
Box office$10 million[2]

Allied is a 2016 World War II romantic thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Steven Knight. It follows two assassins who fall in love during a mission to kill a German official and stars Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard, Jared Harris, Lizzy Caplan and Simon McBurney.

Principal photography began in February 2016 in London. The film was released in the United States on November 23, 2016 by Paramount Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $10 million.

Plot

In 1942 in the midst of World War II, Canadian Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) travels to French Morocco to assassinate a Nazi ambassador in Casablanca. He partners with a French Resistance fighter named Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard) who narrowly escaped France after her resistance group was compromised and wiped out. The two successfully kill the ambassador and escape undetected, and Max, who has fallen in love with Marianne, proposes to her. The two get married, settle down in London, and have a baby girl named Anna.

One year later, Max learns from the SOE that Marianne is suspected of being a double agent and an imposter who was planted by the Germans in Casablanca after the real Marianne was executed in France. In order to confirm her allegiance, Max's commanding officer Frank Heslop (Jared Harris) orders Max to write down a document containing false intelligence and plant it where Marianne can find it. If the information is leaked, Max, as the husband of the double agent, must personally execute her. Heslop warns him to act normally and not to take matters into his own hands. Defying orders, Max visits a crippled former comrade of his named Guy Sangster (Matthew Goode), who reveals that drunkard ex-operative Paul Delamare (Thierry Frémont) can confirm whether Max's wife is indeed Marianne. Max meets a young pilot named George Kavanagh (Daniel Betts), gives him a picture of his wife, and instructs him to confirm with Delamare whether she really is Marianne. At a party hosted by Marianne the following night, Heslop confronts Max about his reckless actions and reveals that Kavanagh was killed by Germans while waiting for Delamare. After the party, Max sets out for France and discovers that Delamare has been imprisoned by local police for public drunkenness. With the aid of French Resistance fighters, Max breaks into the jail and confronts Delamare, who is unable to conclusively recognize Max's wife but reveals that when he first met Marianne, she skillfully played La Marseillaise on the piano in a cafe full of German officers.

The next morning, Max brings Marianne to a local bar and demands she play the piano for him. Realizing that she has been caught, Marianne confirms to him that she really is a spy, but her feelings for Max were genuine and she only worked for the Germans because they threatened Anna. Max confronts and murders her two Nazi handlers, and they try to flee the country, but Heslop finds them. To prevent Max from ruining his life for her sake, Marianne commits suicide in front of them after telling Max she loves him and to take care of Anna. Heslop, moved by her sacrifice, covers up the incident. Max fulfills his wartime dream and retires to a farm to raise Anna, who inherits one final letter from Marianne telling her that she always loved them.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

On February 6, 2015, Paramount Pictures and New Regency announced that Robert Zemeckis was set to direct an untitled World War II-set romantic thriller film, in which Brad Pitt was set to star.[3] Steven Knight wrote the original script, which was in development by Graham King's GK Films, which now would be produced by ImageMovers' Zemeckis and Steve Starkey along with King.[7] On June 8, 2015, Marion Cotillard was cast in the film to play a spy assassin along with Pitt who fall in love with each other during a mission to kill a German official.[4] In August 2015, writer Knight stated that the film would be based on a true story personally told to him at the age of 21, and he also said that the shooting would start in January 2016.[8] On January 28, 2016, Jared Harris joined the film.[5] On March 8, 2016, Lizzy Caplan was cast in the film to play Pitt's character's sister.[6] Executive producers on the film would be Knight, Jack Rapke, Patrick McCormick and Denis O'Sullivan.[6] Alan Silvestri composed the music for the film.[9]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began in February 2016 in London.[10] In May 2016 scenes set in Casablanca were shot in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands.[11][12]

Release

Paramount Pictures scheduled the film to be released on Wednesday, November 23, 2016.[13]

Box office

Allied opened alongside Moana, Rules Don't Apply and Bad Santa 2 and is expected to gross around $15 million in its opening weekend and $20-25 million over its first five days from 3,160 theaters.[14][15]

Critical response

Allied received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 63%, based on 114 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Allied has its moments, but doesn't quite achieve epic wartime romance status - a disappointment made more profound by the dazzling talent assembled on either side of the camera."[16] Metacritic reports a normallized score of 60 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average "B" grade, on an A+ to F scale.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Allied (15)". British Board of Film Classification. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Allied (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Hayden, Erik (February 6, 2015). "Robert Zemeckis to Direct Brad Pitt Romantic Thriller". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Sneider, Jeff (June 8, 2015). "Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard to Play Spies and Lovers in Robert Zemeckis' WWII Movie". thewrap.com. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Galuppo, Mia (January 28, 2016). "Jared Harris Joins Brad Pitt in Robert Zemeckis' Spy Thriller". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Kroll, Justin (March 8, 2016). "Lizzy Caplan Joins Brad Pitt in Robert Zemeckis' Next Movie". Variety. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  7. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (February 6, 2015). "Brad Pitt & Robert Zemeckis Team On Steven Knight Script". deadline.com. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  8. ^ Chitwood, Adam (August 27, 2015). "Robert Zemeckis' WWII Romance Starts Filming in January, Says Steven Knight". collider.com. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  9. ^ "Alan Silvestri to Score Robert Zemeckis' Untitled World War II Spy Drama". filmmusicreporter.com. October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  10. ^ Evry, Max (March 31, 2016). "Five Seconds of Silence Set Photos with Brad Pitt & Marion Cotillard". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  11. ^ Lawrence, Rebecca (May 28, 2016). "Sun, sand and Brad Pitt! Allied filming continues in Gran Canaria as the star dons vintage forties clothing to work on new scenes in the desert". Daily Mail. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  12. ^ Tufft, Ben (May 21, 2016). "Dapper Brad Pitt and his chic co-star Marion Cotillard film scenes for World War II movie Allied... as filming moves from the UK countryside to Gran Canaria". Daily Mail. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  13. ^ Sneider, Jeff (November 3, 2015). "Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard WWII Spy Movie Sets Release Date". thewrap.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  14. ^ "Will 'Moana' Slay 'Fantastic Beasts' Over The Thanksgiving Stretch?". Deadline.com.
  15. ^ "'Moana' Sets Sights on $80+ Million 5-Day Thanksgiving Debut". Box Office Mojo.
  16. ^ "Allied (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  17. ^ "Allied reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  18. ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
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