Director: David Leveaux
Writer: Simon Burke (Screenplay) Alan Judd (Novel)
Starring: Lily James, Jai Courtney, Christopher Plummer, Janet McTeer
Plot: A German soldier tries to determine if the Dutch resistance has planted a spy to infiltrate the home of Kaiser Wilhelm in Holland during the onset of World War II, but falls for a young Jewish Dutch woman during his investigation.
Tagline – It Takes Just One To Change The Code Of War
Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Exception starts when German soldier Captain Stefan Brandt (Courtney) is assigned to spy on the Kaiser Wilhelm II (Plummer) and his wife Princess Hermine (McTeer) to guard them and overhear their opinions on Hitler, there is a rumor of a British spy in the area too, which he must look out for.
Stefan ends up falling for a Jewish Dutch maid Mieke (James) as the two are having a secret relationship in the home, while the pressure the of the Germans trying to get the Kaiser out of power piling on, will the truth get exposed.
Thoughts on The Exception
Final Thoughts –The Exception follows a nearly disgraced German soldier who is sent to guard the Kaiser Wilhelm II of German during the second world war, only to learn that he needs to locate a spy within the household and the political side of the war gets thrown into the mix between the monarchy and the political rise. This does bring in another one of the spins on the wartime spies who were doing the right thing, only to spin the struggle of power between the man who was ruling German and the party that had look to take over the country. The performances from Lily James and Jai Courtney are both strong in their leading roles and Christopher Plummer is brilliant to watch, with a role that has added humor in. in the end this is a simple wartime romance movie that adds in moments of spy being involved, which doesn’t have much of a mystery about it.
