Anthropoid

Every time I see a film based on a wartime true story with a horrific premise, I always leave the theater with a sense of awe and a gut-wrenching feeling, because they are presented in a way that are painstakingly realistic and graphic. Films such as "Schindler's List" '93, "The Pianist" '02, "Valkyrie" '08 and even "Monuments Men" '14 are films that test the psyche and one's emotional state.

This is the extraordinary story based on true events of Operation Anthropoid, the World War II mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich. The Reich's third in command after Hitler and Himmler, Heydrich was the main architect behind the Final Solution and the leader of occupying Nazi forces in Czechoslovakia whose reign of terror prompted self-exiled Czech and Slovak parachute soldiers Josef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) to hatch a top-secret mission that changed the face of Europe forever. The others that helped including Jan Zelenka-Hajsky (Toby Jones) decide to pair these two soldiers with Marie (Charlotte Le Bon) and Lenka (Anna Geislerova) as their lovers so as to fit in without causing suspicion in public, so they can infiltrate. However, soon they are overwhelmed by nervousness and fear over the importance of their assignment.

Others to round out the cast are Harry Lloyd as Adolf Opalka, Marcin Dorocinski as Ladislav Vanek, Bill Milner as Ata Moravec, Sam Keeley as Josef Bublik, Jiri Simek as Karel Curda, Mish Boyko as Jan Hruby, Alena Mihulova as Mrs. Moravcova, Brian Caspe as Antonin, Roman Zach as Father Petrek and Sean Mahon as Dr. Eduard.

This was directed with intensity and clarity by Sean Ellis ("Cashback" '06, "The Broken" '08, "Metro Manila" '13). The staging and pacing in this was delineated well and was where Ellis was able to get his actors to channel their emotions in just the right way at the right times. It was equally written well by Ellis and Anthony Frewin. This was written in a, for all practical purposes, real time format so one felt like you were privy of their plan at hand with all the nuances of ideas. Other than a cople of very small slow areas about a third way into the film, this script was tight and cohesive, not to mention gripping and intense.
If this film succeeds at all, it definitely tells us that war is hell and that it is amazing of how many ways we can create to torture and kill our fellow man. We have become a society in which we are far removed from what constitutes a 'bad day'. These people were, quite literally, under the gun wondering if they were going to live another day, where we have gotten to a point in our present day world where if we have a bad day at work or have a bad hair day or if we can't find our smart phone, we're having really a bad day. This film was incredibly sobering in that I and most people have no idea what really constitutes having a bad day is. 

This is not a film designed for the mass audience appeal, but it's a film a lot of people should experience. After seeing this film, you will leave with the feeling of being so-o appreciative of what kind of life you have, especially living in a country that is as free as this one is.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                               Rated: R                                    120mins.