"Stuck somewhere in-between a romantic drama and a political thriller..."

Acting almost as a prelude to Oscar-nominated The Baader Meinhof Complex from 2008, Andres Veiel’s production If Not Us, Who? takes a look at the prominent set of political events from a romantic angle, although perhaps proving to cover the same ground and topics a little too shortly after its recent depiction.

Set mostly in Berlin in the 1960’s, the film delves into the political protests held by the Red Army Faction – a left-wing terrorist group – and those caught up in it. Lena Lauzemis plays Gudrun Ensslin, a prominent member of the violent group, taking a look at the years leading up to her radical move into terrorism, and her how such events affected her long-standing relationship with her partner Bernward Vesper (August Diehl).

Despite once having a seemingly unbreakable love for one another, the pair begin to drift apart, and even their young and only son can’t prevent the inevitability of their break-up, as Gudrun starts a passionate relationship with savage narcissist Andreas Baader (Alexander Fehling), leaving Bernward to slowly go critically insane whilst watching his former lover turn to a life of crime.

If Not Us, Who? spends too long building up its initial story, before cutting it short when it becomes extremely dramatic and intriguing. Lasting at a little over two hours, much of this is spent focusing on the relationship between Gudrun and Bernward prior to the former’s turn to terrorism, yet it is when Gudrun leaves Bernward that the film truly picks up – as Veiel’s feature certainly proves to be a sufferer from the ‘too much too late’ syndrome.

The picture is relatively boring at points, but possesses two stunning performances from the protagonists. Diehl you may recognise from the wonderful cellar scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, displaying equally as much charm and intensity in this, as he bears in the said scene. It’s good to see him remain in Germany after such world-wide success, perhaps where his former co-star Chrisoph Waltz has gone wrong, turning out in mediocre Hollywood drivel such as The Three Musketeers and Water for Elephants. Let’s hope a certain Jean Dujardin, fresh off the back of winning an Oscar for Best Actor, takes a pointer or two from Diehl.

Lauzemis on the other hand, despite being fantastic in the role, is playing a character that is extremely difficult to like or relate to. Yet, similarly to Diehl, she has a wonderful ability to portray a character that begins the film relatively ordinarily, before slowly declining into becoming a troubled and tragic individual, and to show both sides to such a character requires an incredible amount of skill, from both parts.

The feature also boasts a terrific soundtrack, playing upbeat Motown and Rock and Roll throughout. Such a choice of music adds a real joviality to an otherwise quite bleak picture, wonderfully conflicting to the nature of the film, emphasised greatly in the incessant use of such music – such as Keep On Running by The Spencer Davis Group – being played over the top of real political footage from the time, whilst also adding a touch of authenticity to the production, underlining the film’s 60’s setting.

Veiel’s production certainly has its positives, and is an intelligent and in many ways quite absorbing piece of cinema. Yet ultimately the film is perhaps too long and too substantive, stuck somewhere in-between a romantic drama and a political thriller, yet failing to find a compatible middle ground between the two.