The Good Traitor: Fact-Based Nazi-Era Drama Should be Dazzling But Lacks Heft

By Thom Ernst

Rating: C

No doubt Henrik Kauffmann (Ulrich Thomsen), the Danish ambassador to the United States during Nazi-occupied Denmark, was good. But The Good Traitor, the pseudo-docudrama depicting his life is sadly not.

Director Christina Rosendahl takes an electrifying moment in World War II history and converts it into an uninspired chamber drama. Domestic conflicts and sibling rivalry outweigh the threat of fascism on the free world.

There are moments where The Good Traitor shows immense promise. Scenes involving a hot-headed Povl Bang-Jensen (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) railing against Denmark's complacency next to Einar Blechingberg's (Esben Dalgaard Andersen) unobtrusive yes-man content to keep the status quo are among the film's best. But The Good Traitor never imposes enough tension to raise the stakes higher than an exposed tryst in the woods.

Kauffman, effectively portrayed by Thomsen, is an intriguing character. How could he not be? Here is a man who defies his country's neutral stance after Nazi troops march into Denmark under the guise of protecting them from opposing armies.

Kauffman's reaction is to renounce orders from Denmark as orders made under duress. He declares himself an independent until he knows that Nazi rule is no longer a threat to his homeland. His stance marks him and members of his cabinet as traitors. But will his disobedience help his country or put them further at risk?

Rosendahl declines to show anything that goes on beyond the private domains of Washington's elite. If Rosendahl intends to present an insulated view of the war prior to the U.S. involvement, she effectively achieves this through the grandfatherly depiction of Franklin Roosevelt (Henry Goodman).

And yet, Rosendahl continues to push the disconnect through innocuous pool parties and backdoor meetings, allowing the war in via radio news broadcast while children dance or swim in the background. But what drags the film down is Rosendahl's insistence that the real drama is Kaufman's relationship and the competitive history between his wife Charlotte (Denise Gough) and her sister, Zilla (Zoë Tapper).

PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN

Goodman presents Roosevelt as though he were a kindly Southern gentleman who miscalculates the value of his laidback, homespun wisdom. The Roosevelt depicted in The Good Traitor seems more inspired by Chauncey Gardner than by the former war-time president.

Next to Kauffman, it’s Gough as Charlotte Kauffman who has the most to do. The film's opening scene, and the most shocking part of the movie, depicts her in a ripped-from-the-headlines event that would overshadow much of what the couple achieved in their lifetime.

And it's an underlying action that dominates the rest of the film. In The Good Traitor, Charlotte is a woman under duress. She is the only connection between her husband and the president and justifiably questions whether she is more needed than loved. Charlotte is likely the movie's most fictionalized character—she existed, but maybe not like this.

Rosendahl admits only to The Good Traitor as a story inspired by Kauffmann's life. It's an admission that leaves the door open for speculation, intrigue, drama, and thrills. Sadly, with The Good Traitor, Rosendahl takes scant advantage of this freedom.

In this case, I don’t know if the truth is necessarily stranger than fiction, but it is certainly more interesting.

The Good Traitor. Directed by Christina Rosendahl. Starring Ulrich Thomsen, Denise Gough, Zoë Tapper, Henry Goodman and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard. Now available on VOD.