George Clooney’s The Monuments Men reached number four on Netflix’s worldwide top ten. The film made a profit at the box office, but critics expressed mixed opinions. The Monuments Men is a historical drama adapting a fascinating nonfiction book. It follows Allied soldiers working to retrieve stolen art before the Nazis destroy it. The premise suggests a stellar heist movie, but it’s more sentimental in practice. The Monuments Men is doing well now, but it’s leaving Netflix on April 1st.
George Clooney’s The Monuments Men Enjoys a Netflix Going Away Party
Movies enter and leave Netflix’s library all the time. The Monuments Men dropped onto the service several months ago. I remember noticing a strange glitch that deprived the film of a thumbnail. I thought it was an intentional gag to steal the art from a movie about stolen art. The Monuments Men is George Clooney’s fifth project as director. Most of his projects tell fictionalized true stories, as Clooney loves history. Monuments Men covers Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter’s book (partially) of the same name. Clooney and screenwriter Grant Heslov changed the names and some of the details, but the story shines through. It’s about the value of art, even in a time of warfare. Lieutenants Frank Stokes (Clooney) and James Granger (Matt Damon) assemble art historians and museum curators to reclaim stolen masterpieces. It could’ve been a ton of fun, but it aims higher and suffers for it.
The Monuments Men wants to be a sappy meditation on classical art as the pinnacle of human achievement. It frames the Madonna of Bruges as the humanist, pure-hearted counterpoint to the sins of World War II. The US military fights George Clooney at every turn, insisting that protecting sculptures is a waste of time and resources. Notably, the real mission was partially launched by the British. The Monuments Men owes its current top-ten position primarily to European countries. Norway, Poland, Finland, and Sweden have it in third place. Belgium ties Iceland for its highest position with second place. The United States didn’t make the list, but The Monuments Men reached fourth place on Netflix’s top ten. It will exit the streaming service on April 1st, a fact which appears prominently on the thumbnail. Rotten Tomatoes won’t give The Monuments Men its flowers, but Netflix has a lovely parting gift.
George Clooney directed The Boys in the Boat last year. It’s another adaptation of a nonfiction book acknowledging Clooney’s love of history. It earned a lot of similar pushback from critics. They praised its heart but challenged its sentimentality, old-fashioned directorial style, and inconsistent tone. The Monuments Men has many of the same upsides and downsides. Most of Clooney’s filmography has the feeling of a treasured relative telling you a story but really laying its meaning on thick. Sit with Uncle George Clooney and let him share his version of The Monuments Men. It’ll only be around for so long.
