Making ‘Allied’ was a gamble

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES

In a world of franchises, reboots and comic-book films, the original espionage thriller “Allied” is a comparatively bold gamble for a studio. Glamorous, serious and classically made (with a healthy dose of CGI), “Allied,” from director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Steven Knight, looks to harken back to a bygone Hollywood of David Lean epics and sweeping romances between larger-than-life movie stars.

In “Allied,” the would-be Bogart and Bergman are Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard, who slip into sumptuous period costumes and settings to tell the story of a pair of WWII-era spies, in Casablanca and then in England, who fall in love amid the turmoil of war. Their happy existence is put into doubt, however, when Max’s (Pitt) superiors inform him that they suspect Marianne (Cotillard), now his wife and the mother of his child, is a double agent.

“It’s rare that we can still do movies like this one – very deep love stories with original subjects and surprising stories,” Cotillard said. “It is this very entertaining movie with very strong and powerful feelings and real questions about love and war.”

Zemeckis was pleased that his leads looked natural and of the time in the clothes.

“Sometimes you put period costumes on contemporary actors and they look like they are dressed up,” Zemeckis said. “But they were able to carry those costumes in a way that looks absolutely right.

The costumes, by Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg favorite Joanna Johnston, proved essential for the characters, too. Cotillard calls her wares “another layer of the skin.” She was also delighted to be sporting garments similar to her childhood idols such as Ingrid Bergman and Katharine Hepburn.

“I would watch actresses in glamorous movies, and it was part of my dream to be an actress,” she said.

On set, Cotillard also became a de facto teacher for Pitt, who had to master a French-Canadian accent for his role.

“It was a lot of stress for him, a lot of stress,” she said. “He was working every day. I helped him by being very honest. That’s the only way you can be pushed to your best. I was very impressed by his dedication.”

The film turned out to be a bigger visual effects endeavor than Zemeckis originally planned. They didn’t have the budget to build everything, so they used digital set extensions to create the very specific wartime locations in the script.