A Questionable Portrayal of Rose Valland, Art Historian, in The Monuments Men

I saw The Monuments Men in theaters about three weeks ago with a group of art conservators in Atlanta. (A synopsis can be found on the film's website.) I had somewhat low expectations but I really did enjoy myself. It was beautifully shot and featured a splendid cast of some of my favorite actors. The George Clooney/John Goodman combo in the historical setting had me thinking of O Brother Where Art Thou, one of my favorite films. And I'm not sure if Wes Anderson had any involvement in this but it was impossible not to think of him--what with all the actors from Anderson's regular round-up (Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, and, more recently, George Clooney) as well as a very nice score by Alexandre Desplat, who also wrote music for Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

Unfortunately, The Monuments Men  doesn't really stand up next to the aforementioned works, mostly due, in my opinion, to its trite and uninspiring dialogue (and writing in general). It's not that I don't love the sound of George Clooney's voice, because I do, but perhaps I've just seen too many movies with him as narrator. It became boring. And once you realize that he wrote the movie it only makes it worse. I really wanted it to work, but it doesn't. Even Bill Murray's lines weren't funny when they were supposed to be.

One thing that I noticed about this film is that it does not pass the Bechdel Test. (It does come pretty close, however, when Cate Blanchett's character and another woman vindictively spit in a champagne glass being delivered to a male German officer in what might have been the best scene in the film.) Blanchett's character, art historian Claire Simone, is the only female of note in The Monuments Men. I have not read the book upon which the film is based, but I am curious to know if this is also the case in the book. Today's art conservation is a field virtually comprised exclusively of women, and becoming more so by the minute. Obviously the same could not be said in the 1940s, and so the lack of women in the film is unsurprising, but it was still not a little strange to go with a group of 10+ professional art conservators, all women, to see a film about a group of all-male art conservators.

While on the gender topic, I am still unsure how I feel about the character of Claire Simone. In the film, she is a French art historian who has been secretly keeping track of where Nazis are sending artworks, and she helps the American "Monuments Men" by sharing her information with Matt Damon's character, Metropolitan Museum of Art director James Granger. Granger is apparently so charming that Simone basically begs him to sleep with her, but as a morally straight married man, he turns her down. As I said, I have not read the book, but I'm guessing this bit was written in for some added drama. Does it bother me? Honestly, yes. Should it? I'm not sure. My online research indicates that Simone is inspired by a French woman named Rose Valland. Here she is:

According to Wikipedia, "Rose Antonia Maria Valland (1 November 1898 – 18 September 1980) was a French art historian, a member of the French Resistance, a captain in the French military, and one of the most decorated women in French history." (Read more about her here.) I totally think she can be all of those things and still be a sexy French seductress who doesn't care whether you are married or not, but I can't help but wonder why Clooney felt the need to portray her in the way he did. Is it because single French women must necessarily be attracted to handsome Americans and therefore offer themselves to them? Again, there is nothing wrong with offering yourself to someone. The whole scene just seemed very contrived to me. It left a bad taste in my mouth, more than anything else about the mediocre film. Besides, who in their right minds would have turned down a night with the (soon-to-be) most decorated woman in French history?

I do recommend the film to any fans of art, these actors, or the period. It is a generally entertaining, feel-good film--maybe even a little too good.

I plan to read the book soon; perhaps I'll make another post once I've done so.