I do love a good World War II drama. And while this one's no masterpiece, it furthers the proof that Bleecker Street is putting out some fine films in only its sophomore year. Anthropoid has its virtues, and in a summer of either overblown masterpieces or overblown failures, that's saying a lot. It's not pretentious, it's not elaborate, and it's not coated with CG crap. Small, detailed, and poignant, the picture takes us back in time to a lesser-known story that reminds us to consider the cost of our fights. Anthropoid will earn its place on my shelf for two main reasons.
The story. I've seen Valkyrie, sure, and I've read anecdotes here and there about the assassination attempts on high-level Nazi leaders during the war. Operation Anthropoid was one of these, the (unfamiliar to me) assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, a major figure in the regime and main man behind the Holocaust. I had seen Kenneth Branagh portray him in the 2001 drama Conspiracy, so I was able to contextualize the film a wee bit. Like in Valkyrie, this film follows conspirators in their planning and execution of the assassination in question, and then as they cope with the aftermath. It's not a novel idea for a film, but it certainly works. Unfortunately in Anthropoid, the script uses minimalist shorthand in cultivating our sympathies, forcing us to bring our own understanding of history to the film rather than teaching us new contexts. As I, for one, am still learning about the horrors of WWII, I had little knowledge of the effects of war on Czechoslovakia or its people, so the righteous anger of the assassins was less accessible to me. A more articulate screenplay would have made the characters and world of the movie much more accessible, which is a bit of a shame, since the incredibly detailed scene design and costuming and lighting were so entrancing. I felt the world on screen, I just didn't know it -- does that make sense?
The climax. This is the real gold mine. While most of the film is solid enough, from the point of the assassination attempt itself to the end, the plot radically shifts into thriller mode and ramps up its energy. By the time our heroes hole themselves up in a church for protection, we know it's almost over. What happened next was something I did not expect: A jarring, taut, edge-of-your-seat nail-biter of a firefight. It's pretty damn violent, to be sure, but actually so was a lot of this film (There's one scene of torture in particular that made me get light-headed. If you thought you hated Nazis, watch this scene and you'll realize you have more to give). The finale, though, is a microcosm of cinematic excellence, featuring fabulous visual editing, great sound mixing and editing, smart logistics, and some decent camerawork to boot. If you don't watch anything else in the movie, watch that sequence.
Okay, and there's a third reason. Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy both make me feel a certain way, and when they share a screen in period getup while crying and hugging and angsting out the wazoo, I can't stop the waterworks. Someone pass me a hanky.
IMDb: Anthropoid
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