Sailer and aristocracy
It is probably a mistake to discuss Sailer's limited critique on Valkyrie. He says nothing substantial about Tom Cruise's acting other than to say that he doesn't like Cruise, that Cruise's career has tanked since hiring a new publicist, and then he contradicts himself and writes: "the Cruise brand name implies that the film will be a quality product."
Sailer has managed to come up with a few hits in his commentaries at Vdare, as well as at his blog, but sometimes I wonder if this is to do with real insight, or just churning of numbers (he was a marketing researcher, after all) which he translates into repetitive, if not limited, writings that he echoes ad nauseam making it seem like he comes up with wonderful insights every two weeks or so. Even his Obama writings haven't garnered the popularity and commentary one would expect from having published a whole book on the subject. Modest bloggers and commentators have come up with better ideas.
Sailer has forever condemned Cruise's great acting in Valkyrie declaring that Cruise isn't aristocratic enough. But Stauffenberg, the real aristocrat who is played by Cruise, actually had a military career, and wasn't some sensitive patsy. As this article explains, aristocratic Germans were highly represented in the German resistance, partly because these Germans felt a responsibility to protect their country, and also they were themselves trained and skilled military men.
Stauffenberg had spent many years in the war effort, including in North Africa, after which he became disappointed in Hitler's war. He started to find ways to get involved in the German resistance, as well as finding ways to participate in a coup. He eventually tried various attempts on Hitler's life, including the one which became the closest anyone managed to get.
His military background made him a practical and well organized leader. This is exactly how Cruise played this part. Sailer's commentary is therefore partly ignorant, and partly arrogant, as though he is the expert on aristocratic behavior.
Sailer also over-works the English, American and a few smattering of German and Dutch accents found in the film. I think the filmmaker actually made great use of the various international actors and their "stereotypes." The pragmatic, no-nonsense, action-oriented role of Stauffenberg was given to an American actor (Cruise), and the more hierarchy-minded General Olbricht (with a slightly uncommitted demeanor) was given to an English actor. Of course, these nuances were lost in Sailer's unimaginative analysis.
Here is the final quote from Sailer: "The film would have worked better with a Shakespearean-trained English actor as the Count." Stuck on his own limited definition of aristocracy, and unable to see the clever and adroit way in which the director actually used different accents and nationalities to help him with different personalities, Sailer, the movie critic for The American Conservative, ends up with a bland and thoughtless review of a very good film.