‘Nuremberg’ Review: Potent Performances by Russell Crowe and Rami Malek Ignite a Bracingly Relevant Historical Drama

In the days immediately following the end of World War II in Europe, a U.S. Supreme Court justice grappled with the best way to ensure those surviving members of Hitler’s Nazi regime were held accountable for the atrocities committed under their watch. While Congress was pushing for an expedited execution rather than a trial, chief U.S. prosecutor Robert H. Jackson instead argued for an international tribunal, despite there being no legal precedent for proceedings against a country that never attacked the U.S.

Jackson’s dogged determination — leading to the first courtroom trial to address crimes against the peace of the world — and the ensuing psychiatric assessment of the accused, most notably former Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring, set the stage for what was to become known as the Nuremberg trials.

Eighty years later, those historical events have been lent a chilling relevance in the hands of writer-director James Vanderbilt,…