Allied

Steeped in nostalgia and framed by true-life historical intrigue, Allied can’t measure up to its lofty ambitions.

It’s an old-fashioned, star-studded World War II romance from veteran director Robert Zemeckis that tries to affectionately pay tribute to Casablanca and other such epics from yesteryear. But while the result is compelling on the surface, it lacks a deeper resonance.

Appropriately enough, the film opens along the Moroccan coast, where Max (Brad Pitt) is a Canadian officer working for British intelligence behind enemy lines. That’s where he meets Marianne (Marion Cotillard), a French resistance fighter assigned to portray his wife in a plot to assassinate a German ambassador at a reception.

They carry off the ruse so well that their fake attraction becomes real. And their passion deepens because of their mutual allegiance to the same side in the war. However, questions arise after they reunite in London and begin a passionate affair, eventually marrying and starting a family.

As Max continues to work in intelligence while Marianne settles into a more domestic routine, the relationship is threatened by accusations that one of them might be a spy for the Germans, and that the marriage is a distraction from the classified nature of their mission.

Allied makes for a better espionage thriller than a love story. As details are gradually revealed about their motives and the true nature of their relationship, the characters remain emotionally distant.

The visually striking effort includes exotic locales and meticulous period re-creation. And it helps that both stars are appropriately glamorous, with Pitt back fighting the Nazis a few years after his amusing turn in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. Still, their on-screen pairing lacks sizzle.

The screenplay by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) is contrived in spots, yet builds tension when the couple relocates to London, as the stakes are raised, secrets are confronted and loyalties are questioned. But with the film’s deliberate pace — especially considering its wartime backdrop — it takes a while to get there.

Such is the frustration of a film that features elements of grand historical drama without the cohesiveness to make it work. Allied succeeds more in evoking better films from a bygone era than breaking new ground on its own.

Rated R, 124 minutes.