‘The Exception’ Trailer: Jai Courtney Stars In A Nazi Love Story
Maybe if I’d seen the Starz showSpartacus: War of the Damned, I’d be on board theJai Courtneytrain. But aside from a halfway decent performance in the firstJack Reachermovie and the weirdness of his Captain Boomerang inSuicide Squad, I haven’t seen much from the guy that warrants his level of stardom.
But maybe he’s better in smaller films than blockbusters. Let’s test that theory by taking a look at the trailer for a new World War II thriller calledThe Exception, which stars Courtney as a Nazi soldier who falls in love with a Jewish girl played byBaby Driver’sLily James. WatchThe Exceptiontrailer below.
The Exception trailer
With apologies to the un-ironic super-fan #jaibless crowd on Twitter, I’m still not seeing a spark from Courtney here. There are only so many times I can justify seeing a wooden performance by saying, “Oh, the character is supposed to be like that” before I start to wonder if it’s actually the guy himself who just doesn’t do it for me.
But this wouldn’t be the first time a trailer has concealed a terrific performance – not every movie can be marketed likeFences, where’s a studio is clearly selling an all-out acting masterclass by highlighting its showiest moments beforehand. Still, for a film that’s centered on the humanity of a forbidden relationship in dangerous times, I’d like to see a bit more of the character’s soul shine through.
Award-winning stage directorDavid Leveauxis making his feature film debut behind the camera here, and he at least believes Courtney has the goods. In an interview withUSA Today, he explained:
“To have a credible Brandt, you had to have a man who was believably a combat soldier, somebody who’s instantly alpha male — in other words, he couldn’t be Hamlet from the beginning but more like Macbeth. It’s one thing to play a cast-iron hero from beginning to end but it’s quite another to play one who actually becomes authentically vulnerable — at a really inconvenient moment for him.”
If Courtney can’t entirely hold this one up on his shoulders alone, he’s aided by a solid supporting cast includingChristopher Plummer(who’s playing a fascinating inversion of hisSound of Musiccharacter here as a former German Kaiser), the always-capableLily James, and the reliably strongEddie Marsan.
What do you think? Am I being too harsh on Courtney, or do you see greatness in him? Will it even be possible for audiences to sympathize with a Nazi character in 2017, considering the recent resurgence of actual Nazis in our real political landscape?
The Exceptionarrives on DirecTV this Thursday and hits theaters onJune 2, 2017.
