by Frank Calvillo
It’s nothing short of astounding just how many stories continue to come out of WWII. With every title that’s released dealing with one of the most monumental periods of history comes a wealth of cinematic material. February brought one such title, Race, to the forefront, offering a portrait of Nazi Germany in a fresh and exciting way with its recreation of the 1936 Olympics set against the backdrop of the start of Hitler’s regime. While the recently-released Anthropoid boasts enough of the qualities which made Race so enthralling, including a fascinating plot and incredible production values, the film fails to make any kind of long-lasting impact due its continued inability to connect on most emotional levels.
Anthropoid is based on the true story of two young soldiers, Jan (Jamie Dornan) and Josef (Cillian Murphy), who have come to Czechoslovakia to execute a top-secret mission detailing the assassination of SS General Reinhard Heydrich, Hitler’s third in command. With the help of a resistance leader (Toby Jones) and various other individuals, the two task themselves with committing an act which will alter the course of all of Europe.
It is such an incredibly sad duty to report that Anthropoid is one of the most lifeless films ever made about WWII. The film’s screenplay is packed with all the right kinds of moments and turns that would make the film seem like a searing look into a virtually unexplored pocket of history. And yet, none of it ever fully registers on an emotional level. There’s no real power to any of the scenes which should be gripping, and while every twist isn’t expected, there’s no surprise whatsoever when soldiers invade or characters die. It’s not as if the filmmakers have forgotten something, some essential ingredient which gives films such as Anthropoid real power. But between films such as Saving Private Ryan and The Debt, there are simply too many other stories which have achieved that emotional pull such stories require in ways much greater.
That’s not to say that Anthropoid is a complete dog of a movie by any means. In fact there are a number of admirable qualities which very nearly save the film from being a truly dire experience. To begin with, the film is technically superb on every level, with director Sean Ellis’s cinematography taking over as the film’s star at certain times. His choice to populate the film with rich, muted colors lends itself to a gorgeous poignancy which carries the film more than it should. The same goes for the production design, which is spot on in its efforts to transport the audience back to a pre-war Czechoslovakia. Finally, while the very few of the moves regarding story and character actually hit home, some credit must be given to Ellis for the opposing ways he chose to tell the closing stories of the two main characters, opting for intense action for one and poetic beauty for the other.
While the two leads share screen time more or less equally, it’s Murphy who is blessed with the more intense role. His Josef is a determined warrior who has devoted his life to the cause at hand, many times not realizing the true cost of his mission. As Jan, Dornan finds himself tasked with playing a character who must witness the first-hand effects of what war requires from an individual. The two are aided by some fine actors doing quality work, such as Charlotte Le Bon and Anna Geislerova as the guys’s romantic interests, and especially by Jones, who once again proves he can acquit himself well in just about any film you place him in.
It really is a true shame that Anthropoid didn’t have the proper amount of weight its story and circumstances should have had given the gravity of the events at hand. Perhaps the end result would have had more heft had there not been actors who look like Dornan and Murphy in the lead roles. As it stands, the film seems like a vehicle for two capable pretty boy actors. Casting two regular, ordinary looking actors would have at least added a layer of authenticity that would have elevated the proceedings and made Anthropoid into a memorable testament to a part of WWII not too widely-known.
Anthropoid opened August 12 in the US.
