At first glance, Georgetown seems like an obvious project for actor Christoph Waltz to choose as his feature directing debut. It’s got a great leading role that allows Waltz to indulge in the kind of charming malice at which he excels. But when you look closer, you can see the appeal is really in the relationship Waltz has with his legendary leading lady, Vanessa Redgrave. Although the opening of Georgetown would lead you to suspect that this is a typical marriage-gone-wrong drama featuring a conniving husband who takes advantage of his innocent wife, Redgrave is far from a passive character here, and the spark she brings to the role is what gives Georgetown its life. Waltz still gets the flash and delectable chicanery that endeared him to audiences in Quentin Tarantino’s movies, but the movie holds together because of how he explores a marriage made not out of love but out of ego.
Ulrich Mott (Waltz) and his wife Elsa Brecht (Redgrave) are a power couple among the D.C. cocktail set as they host charming dinner parties in their Georgetown home. The marriage has never sat right with Elsa’s daughter Amanda (Annette Bening), a Harvard law professor who works in Boston, but her mother refuses to hear any protestations. One night after a brief spat, Ulrich goes out for a walk and in the morning the 91-year-old Elsa is dead. What at first appears to be a tragic loss takes the first of many twists when Ulrich tells Amanda that he will track down the people responsible for Elsa’s death. From there, the story splits into flashbacks where we track Ulrich and Elsa’s relationship and the present day where there’s an investigation into Elsa’s apparent murder.
In its first act, it may seem as though Ulrich is merely taking advantage of Elsa. He’s a 50-year-old intern working for a congressman, he cheats his way into the White House Correspondents Dinner where he meets Elsa, and then he pursues her while clearly aware of the social connections she carries. But the smartest move that Waltz and screenwriter David Auburn make here is not treating Elsa like she’s some frail, little old lady who’s an easy mark for a social climber like Ulrich. Instead, they treat her as a real person with her own goals and agenda. Ulrich’s interest in Elsa is obvious given his desire for recognition and to enter the upper echelons of D.C. society, but the film shows us how Elsa views Ulrich as an intriguing project. She even tells Amanda that she thinks Ulrich “has potential”, which is a weird thing to say about a guy in his 50s.
This makes Georgetown not a one-way con-man story, but one about a mutually beneficial relationship that ultimately went awry. The film attempts to keep us guessing about how much we can believe about Ulrich, but that’s not really it’s strong suit. Waltz does not have a history of playing characters who can be trusted (even his upstanding King Schultz in Django Unchained is a guy who’s likely to shoot you and explain the legality of his actions afterwards), and the film strains when it tries to get us to believe there’s something remotely trustworthy in Ulrich. Eventually, even the film kind of shrugs and asks if even Ulrich believes his own lies. Georgetown is a much stronger picture when it leans into the relationship between Ulrich and Elsa.
It’s our fault as audiences for taking an actor like Redgrave for granted, and Georgetown is a potent reminder of how she can still deliver when given a substantive role. Even though her character dies in the first twenty minutes, the rest of Georgetown provides pathos not by painting Elsa as a victim, but as someone who was running a game with a person she didn’t completely understand. Watching the pair ingratiate themselves further into D.C. society is a fascinating dance, and Elsa shows why so many seemingly serious people would be duped by someone as transparently desperate and unserious as Ulrich. Waltz’ character isn’t for real, which allows him to have more fun with his role and every time he smiles it’s like he’s baring his fangs. But the reality of the situation comes from Elsa, a widow looking for companionship and a project. Embracing that relationship is why Georgetown works, and we buy in because Redgrave knows how to sell it not as a marriage of love but a marriage of convenience.
Georgetown is a capable feature debut from Waltz, but it escapes being a vanity piece because it’s not simply The Christoph Waltz Show Starring Christoph Waltz Doing the Thing You Like to See Christoph Waltz Do in Christoph Waltz Movies. Without Redgrave and fleshing out the Elsa character, Georgetown could have easily fallen into that trap. But as a two-hander, it’s a far more rewarding picture that keeps us intrigued about this bizarre relationship until the very end.
Rating: B-
Georgetown arrives in theaters on May 14th before hitting Premium VOD for purchase on digital on May 18th.