I really enjoyed the movie, but the brutality was a bit difficult to watch. I definitely thought it was worth watching once, but don't see that I'll watch it again. I thought the acting was superb, and that the tactics were "real enough" to be convincing for me. I mean, the Tiger commander might have just made a bad call, right? I think we've all probably had or seen officers who've made bad decisions. To me, the Sherman just capitalized on the Tiger's bad move.
Either way...it was a good film. I didn't think Shia could act until I saw him in this movie.
As for Norman...I don't know if soldiers ever forced a guy like that to kill, but I do know first hand that soldiers like him exist and do not want to kill.