I enjoyed this film, particularly the acting of Christopher Plummer. He played Kaiser Wilhelm as a kindly old man, which he had to in order to get the fictional romance aspect to work. The Kaiser was arrogant in real life and definitely an anti-Semite. Hitler had no use for him and thought he was an idiot.
Kaiser Wilhelm was in exile in Holland; as in the film, he was offered sanctuary by Churchill in England, but he refused, preferring to stay in Holland until his death at the age of 82. He hoped to be restored to the throne, but that didn't happen.
In this story, Mieke (Lily James), a Dutch maid working in the Kaiser's household, is actually a spy feeding information to the local priest. He is using a hidden cipher machine to pass along information, but the Nazis are aware the machine is somewhere in the village.
Mieke meets Stefan, the German in charge of guarding the Kaiser (Jai Courtney), They fall in love -- leaving both of them in a difficult situation.
More of a romance than anything else, The Exception is a fanciful story with some good performances, including Janet McTeer as the Kaiser's wife and the young James as Mieke. Courtney gives a subtle performance as someone who needs to hide his true feelings.
Kaiser Wilhelm was in exile in Holland; as in the film, he was offered sanctuary by Churchill in England, but he refused, preferring to stay in Holland until his death at the age of 82. He hoped to be restored to the throne, but that didn't happen.
In this story, Mieke (Lily James), a Dutch maid working in the Kaiser's household, is actually a spy feeding information to the local priest. He is using a hidden cipher machine to pass along information, but the Nazis are aware the machine is somewhere in the village.
Mieke meets Stefan, the German in charge of guarding the Kaiser (Jai Courtney), They fall in love -- leaving both of them in a difficult situation.
More of a romance than anything else, The Exception is a fanciful story with some good performances, including Janet McTeer as the Kaiser's wife and the young James as Mieke. Courtney gives a subtle performance as someone who needs to hide his true feelings.