The Exception, 2016.
Directed by David Leveaux.
Starring Jai Courtney, Lily James, Christopher Plummer, Janet McTeer, Eddie Marsan, Ben Daniels, and Anton Lesser.
SYNOPSIS:
In 1940, a German officer is sent to the Dutch residence of Kaiser Wilhelm II to oversee his security. But he’s also under orders to report on everything the former German leader does and says and to track down a rumoured spy in his midst. His task is complicated when he falls for the maid of the household who isn’t just Dutch, but also Jewish.
Among the greatest chat-up lines in history, the demand to “take your clothes off” deservedly languishes in the depths of the proverbial barrel. No subtlety, no charm. But it’s exactly what Captain Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney) demands of maid Mieke de Jong (Lily James) when he first meets her. She, astonishingly, obliges but makes a point of turning the tables on him with the same phrase later on. Somewhere along the line, he makes a half hearted attempt to apologise but, by that stage, they’ve become lovers. It’s not exactly the most romantic or, indeed, believable of stories. Or film, come to that. And it’s the sort of story and script that’s likely to encourage more than a few giggles. Of the wrong persuasion.
The Exception is the first feature from director David Leveaux, after a background of TV and theatre. It’s not the most auspicious of starts: the script, isn’t especially sharp and the entire movie looks like it’s been made for TV, and cheap TV at that. Not just that, it’s also depressingly predictable: anybody who’s half awake can tell you who the undercover spy in the Kaiser’s household in five minutes flat. It really is that obvious. And it doesn’t get much better.
So it’s something of a surprise that Leveaux has assembled a decent cast and, if anything keeps the film afloat, it’s them. They’re not all perfect, though. Jai Courtney has little to do except stomp around in his uniform, chain smoke and get jiggy with Lily James. And it’s probably just as well, as on this showing his acting talents are negligible. Eddie Marsan turns up for a handful of scenes as Himmler, soft spoken and sinister and gives proceedings a much needed shot in the arm.
If the film belongs to anybody, it’s Christopher Plummer who plays the aging Kaiser. His aristocratic wife, Princess Hermine (Janet McTeer), adores him but also nurses ambitions of him returning to lead his people. Naïve, foolish ambitions that he knows in his heart of hearts are wrong. Think of Kaiser Wilhelm and you think of somebody with a savage, unpredictable temper, not the twinkly old man we see here, dispensing wisdom and kindness to those around him. But Plummer’s skill as an actor means he can still carry it off, still convince and still hold the film together. It helps that he probably has most of the best lines and that he’s shown as being slightly eccentric. It’s all rather endearing.
Janet McTeer gives good support but, with the exception of Marsan, the rest of the cast look like refugees from TV floundering around in something on a slightly bigger scale. You’d think that Downton’s Lily James would be able to do better, especially given that she was Disney’s choice for Cinderella.
Ultimately, The Exception is an unromantic romance and a thriller without thrills. And decidedly unexceptional.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Freda Cooper. Follow me on Twitter, check out my movie blog and listen to my podcast, Talking Pictures.
Originally published September 26, 2017. Updated April 18, 2018.
