Sometimes, knowledge can be a burden.  Before continuing, please allow me to say what I am not talking about when it comes to knowledge.  First, I am not trying to brag.  I did receive a terminal degree in history, but there is a lot about the subject of which I am unaware.  At the same time, whenever I see a movie about the past, people often ask me why I cannot simply enjoy the story without critiquing it.  This would be more of a burden as applied by others rather than myself.  I see it differently.  What it also is not is a statement from a Catholic about limiting what one learns to whatever the Church teaches.  Besides, this is not a tenet of Catholicism.  Specifically, it is about how today’s film, The Exception (2016), makes a fairy tale of historical fact.  In some respects, this is even worse than getting events wrong.  As I will explain, this is an example of taking kernels of truth and turning them into something else entirely.  Hopefully, the title will do the heavy lifting in this review.

The only heavy lifting Captain Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney) is doing at the beginning of The Exception is himself out of bed.  It is 1940 and the beginning of World War II, and he has already seen combat in Poland.  Though he had been wounded and awarded for bravery, his actions have been deemed suspicious by high command.  A second chance comes his way when he is ordered to Huis Doorn, the palace in Utrecth, Holland, where the former emperor of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II (Christopher Plummer), is living in exile.  Captain Brandt’s greeting is gruff by everyone in the household, who do not like Berlin meddling in the affairs of their erstwhile king.  At the same time, they hold out hope that he will be restored to their throne, and this belief is held most all of all by Wilhelm’s wife, Princess Hermine Ruess of Greiz (Janet McTeer).  Actually, Princess Hermine has a number of other worries, like integrating new servants into the staff.  One of these is a young Dutch woman, Mieke de Jong (Lily James).  Not only is her performance important to the lady of the house, but Wilhelm’s assistant, Colonel Sigurd von Ilsemann (Ben Daniels), warns Captain Brandt to stay away from the young women.  Despite the warning, on his first evening at Huis Doorn, Captain Brandt is visited by Mieke with a dinner invitation for the officer for the following evening.  Their interaction does not stop there, and he orders her to remove her clothes.  This is not Christian behavior, and another reason why I am suggesting avoiding this movie.  While this is not the greatest of cinematic starts, it commences a secret romance between the Dutch woman and German soldier.  Captain Brandt is also not the only one to take a liking to Mieke.  Although not of the romantic variety, Wilhelm enjoys her wit, and a polite friendship forms between the two.  She is also on hand for his daily critique of Germany’s execution of the war.  All this means is that she is ideally placed to be an English spy.  Her handler, Father Hendriks (Kris Cuppens), is helping to prepare her to assassinate Wilhelm.  The plot is not unknown to the Germans, and the local Schutzstaffel (SS) officer, Dietrich (Mark Dexter), is aware of radio chatter originating in the area.  The information is exchanged with Captain Brandt, who also notices when Mieke goes to the church to talk with Father Hendriks.  As such, Captain Brandt knows Mieke is keeping secrets.  It is not her only revelation.  As they grow close, she eventually feels comfortable enough to admit that she is Jewish.  It is a lot to take in, but then they are informed that they are to get a visit from Heinrich Himmler (Eddie Marsan), head of the SS.  He is an enemy for Mieke, who she blames for the death of her husband and family, but also is somebody who Captain Brandt sees as everything currently wrong with the German army.  All the same, they must prepare for Heinrich’s arrival, which involves a thorough search of the house and neighboring village.  Doing so leads to Father Hendriks being captured, meaning that it will be only a matter of time before Mieke is discovered.  During a night spent together, Captain Brandt urges Mieke to flee, but she remains committed to her duty.  It only means extra stress for him with Heinrich being present.  During Heinrich’s stay, he tells Wilhelm what the one-time monarch has waited to here: that he will again rule Germany.  Privately, Heinrich confides to Captain Brandt and Dietrich that Wilhelm is a ruse to ferret out who is still loyal to the crown.  Captain Brandt relays this message to Colonel von Ilsemann.  At the same time, Mieke is about to carry out her mission, but stops when Wilhelm sees through her guile and remains kind to her.  Instead, she rushes back to the house where she reports the former king has fallen ill.  Once everyone rushes to Wilhelm, Captain Brandt takes Mieke aside to tell her that Father Hendriks has cracked.  The SS are rushing to Huis Doorn, while Captain Brandt orders an ambulance for Wilhelm.  The competing groups of vehicles meet at the front gate and Dietrich insists on inspecting the emergency vehicle.  With not only Wilhelm but Mieke also inside, Captain Brandt shoots Dietrich dead and drives away.  Once they are a safe distance away, Mieke flees into the forest with promises that they will marry once the war is over.  The film concludes with a pregnant Mieke sending Captain Brandt a package from London letting him know she is alive.

If you know a little history, you might be wondering about the last scene in The Exception and whether that could have been possible.  This historian can confirm that this did happen.  What stretches credulity here is the way in which Wilhelm is depicted.  The real former emperor of Germany was not a kindly grandfather figure, and a lot more antisemitic than what is shown in the film.  They do talk about these beliefs, but not to a satisfactory degree.  For what it is worth, antisemitism is antithetical to Catholic teaching.  The same can be said for Nazism.  This is one of the reasons I had trouble with Captain Brandt’s character.  Granted, he is not meant to be a committed Nazi.  For instance, you never see him give the party salute.  It should also be pointed out that there were few enough in the German army who stood up against the atrocities being carried out by their countrymen.  The problem is that God sees all that we do, and whether our hearts are into them.  One day, we will be called to account before His Holy judgement seat, and we will not be able to offer any excuses.  I may not have enjoyed how they made Wilhelm behave, but it is important to give a clear picture of the era, especially when you are dealing with people who actually lived.  In this sense, the title truly says everything you need to know about the film.  God loves such people, but hopefully they are more of them than what the movie might suggest.

Given all the problems with The Exception, I suggest that you not see it.  Aside from the historical issues, there is a bit of needless nudity, enough that had me considering watching something else after only a few minutes.  Instead, read a book on the subject.