Ulrich Mühe’s metamorphosis in The lives of others is an acting masterclass. The ruthless Stasi interrogator vernier is disturbing in the hopelessness it makes you feel for the artists he is spying on, heightened in the films intro when we are lead to believe that no matter what information he finds his captives will suffer. This subtle transition into looking at his own humanity in my opinion, is the strongest aspect of the film.
It’s also telling that the cast…
