[usr 4]
A major league baseball player, Moe Berg, lives a double life working for the Office of Strategic Services.
For the longest time, Paul Rudd was always one of those actors who played himself in almost everything I saw him in. From his stint on “Friends,” to everything since, including “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Knocked Up,” “I Love You, Man,” and both “Ant-Man” movies, Paul Rudd always plays Paul Rudd. His mannerisms, idiosyncrasies, character traits, they are always the same so it was with great trepidation that I sat down to watch “The Catcher Was a Spy,” based on a true story from World War II. Well, I am pleased to say, Mr. Rudd finally stopped playing Mr. Rudd, and actually allowed himself to take on a role far from anything he has ever played before. And that is a good thing because I now have a newfound respect for the man.
Moe Berg (Rudd) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball who became a spy for the U.S. Government during World War II. In 1944, he accepted a position with the OSS and was sent on assignment to Europe with the sole intention of trying to figure out if German physicist Werner Heisenberg (Mark Strong), was freely giving scientific information to the Germans, specifically the German nuclear weapons program, which was a scientific effort by Germany to create nuclear weapons during World War II. Berg’s mission was to ascertain if Heisenberg was close to achieving a nuclear arsenal for Germany and if so, to assassinate him. Berg travels from Italy to Zürich, Switzerland, where Heisenberg is to give a lecture and Berg’s objective is to see if Heisenberg will spill anything during his speech and he has been given authorization, by the U.S. government, to shoot him dead as soon as he does so. When he notices that Heisenberg has his own personal bodyguards interspersed throughout the crowd, he puts off his assignment and leaves.
Later, through a mutual friend, Berg is invited to a small gathering, where Heisenberg is attending and the two men start a conversation, with Berg trying to pry information from the physicist. When Heisenberg leaves, Berg quickly follows and a confrontation between the two men on the streets of Zürich transpires. Berg was renowned for his ability to read people and when he confronts Heisenberg, gun in hand, he quickly surmises that he is nowhere close to achieving an atomic bomb, and walks away.
The ending is not a surprise, especially for those familiar with Heisenberg but throughout the film, the question that went unanswered was whether or not Heisenberg was a traitor, or was being forced to work on the nuclear weapons program. The movie also raises questions about Berg’s sexuality, stating that the man was bisexual. In real life, very little was known about his personal life as he was a very private individual but this element was more than likely added to the story to beef up his character and to add some much-needed narrative exposition. Rudd is a revelation, infusing his character with moments of levity but also heartbreaking loneliness. At a time when being gay or bisexual was not acceptable, Berg struggled with his ability to choose either being with a man or a woman, his heart torn as he was in a relationship with a woman named Estella Huni, played beautifully by Sienna Miller. She made it known to Moe that she wanted to be with him but his secretive side, as well as him being a spy, made their relationship almost impossible, and after his mission to Europe, the two never met again.
I have to give kudos to director Ben Lewin, instead of producing yet another World War II drama, he picked a subject matter that just happened to coincide with the war and created a tragic hero, one who just wanted to do right by everyone. Jeff Daniels, Guy Pearce, and Paul Giamatti appear briefly and do well with their roles but this film belongs to Paul Rudd, who gives a wonderfully nuanced performance, and who has finally broken free of the “Paul Rudd Syndrome,” where he can now play characters that are far removed from himself.
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