Plummer in command as exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II
“The Exception,” which opens tomorrow with a cast headed by Oscar winner Christopher Plummer as Germany’s exiled emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II, rates as WWII spy thriller, romantic drama and character study.
Adapted from a bestselling historical novel, “The Exception” illustrates Plummer’s keen eye for a great role: Once he read the just-published book, he was eager for the film rights.
“That was 10 years ago. It was an intriguing role even back then. I knew the guy who got the rights; he was going to produce it. But he died, sadly, and the whole thing blew up.
“We got someone else to get the rights and then 17 scripts later we finally got a guy who narrowed it down to make a movie.”
After Germany lost WWI in 1918, the Kaiser was removed from his throne and exiled to the Netherlands, where “The Exception” finds him, 22 years later, as WWII heats up.
A German captain (Jai Courtney) is assigned to guard him against assassination. Hitler’s notorious No. 2 Heinrich Himmler (Eddie Marsan) comes to dinner as the Kaiser dreams of regaining his throne.
There’s also a flirtation with the new maid (Lily James, “Baby Driver”).
“I’ve done as much research as I could on the Kaiser,” Plummer said, “and there’s not a lot about him. He spent 20 years in exile in Holland and the world forgot all about him.
“I wanted to get his voice. But there’s nothing interesting in the way of speech, only a recording in a low monotone when he spoke to some troops. Nothing valuable. I had to use my imagination.”
The Kaiser’s withered left arm — was that Plummer’s idea to enrich the character?
“Oh, it’s true. There’s a joke. When Queen Victoria died, everyone surrounded her bedside and it was the Kaiser in whose arms she died in; he was her favorite grandson.
“So the joke was ‘She died not in his arms but in his arm.’ He didn’t have any strength in that arm. It made it difficult to balance.”
Come November, “The Man Who Invented Christmas” stars Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge opposite Dan Stevens (“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”) as Charles Dickens writing “A Christmas Carol.”
“It’s charming — a nice idea of how Dickens gets his inspiration from real people. We’ll see Scrooge and he work a few pages.”