Tags: Cate Blanchett | Dave Power | George Clooney | Robin Weigert | Steven Soderbergh | Tobey Maguire

Joseph Kanon's New York Times bestseller is now the basis for the new Warner Bros. film by Steven (Traffic) Soderbergh.

Based on the novel by Joseph Kanon, The Good German takes place in the ruins of post-WWII Berlin, where U.S. Army war correspondent Jake Geismar (George Clooney) becomes embroiled with Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), a former lover whose missing husband is the object of a manhunt by both the American and Russian armies.

Intrigue mounts as Jake tries to uncover the secrets Lena may be hiding in her desperation to get herself and her husband out of Berlin. Tully (Tobey Maguire), a soldier in the American army motor pool assigned to drive Jake around Berlin, has black market connections that may be Lena's way out - or lead them all into even darker territory.

A ponderous, convoluted plot makes this noir film tough going, but Soderbergh had the guts to experiment with an old form in the hope that a modern audience will embrace it.