Anthropoid (2016) | Film Review

What is the definition of bravery? Is it the absence of fear, or the ability to set aside debilitating terror and continue to function? Could you – through your own actions – sentence yourself, your friends, your loved ones, and everyone else you know to death for the greater good? Could you sacrifice a city to save a country? If these questions intrigue you, drop what you’re doing and go see “Anthropoid”. Right now.  

“Anthropoid” is a fact based account of Operation: Anthropoid, the planned assassination of SS General Reinhard Heydrich in the city of Prague in May, 1942. Heydrich was third in power in the Nazi regime, subordinate only to Hitler and Himmler, and responsible for all Nazi operations in the Czech Republic. To say that this man was a difficult target for assassination is a massive understatement. Tasked with this impossible mission are Czech resistance fighters Jozef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan).  

It’s apparent from the outset that these two are far from professional soldiers. The first step of their plan after parachuting in, is to avoid capture and make contact with the Czech resistance in Prague. Murphy’s character sustains a minor but debilitating injury in the drop, they fail to hide their chutes adequately, leave a trail through the woods a blind 3 year old could follow, and come within a hairs breadth of being captured within their first 12 hours. They, in fact, do such a poor job of blending in that a random veterinarian who stitches up Murphy’s wound guesses their entire backstory and directs them to a resistance contact before they get themselves killed. Navy SEALs these guys are not. That is also what makes the casting choices so brilliant. With known, established action stars in these roles, the casual incompetence might not be believable. With Murphy and Dornan, I bought it completely.  

As the story progresses Murphy and Dornan’s characters begin to realize, while they have a good chance of completing their mission, that doing so could inevitably lead to Nazi reprisals resulting in the destruction of the entire city of Prague and the death of all its citizens. Since London parachuted them into enemy territory without even a basic extraction plan, they will also likely become victims of their own success. Kubis (Dornan), in particular, has increasing difficulty dealing with his own fear. He has become romantically involved with a member of the resistance (Charlotte Le Bon) and the prospect of her death leads to a full-on panic attack that is agonizingly believable. Gabcik (Murphy) becomes increasingly focused on moving forward, regardless of the cost, to mask his own anxiety. As the movie builds towards the assassination attempt and inevitable Nazi fallout, all of the members of the mission become both more frightened and more resolved to carry out their orders, despite this overwhelming fear. The last 40 or so minutes of this movie are an absolute nail-biter that I won’t spoil here.  

This is a stand-out role for Murphy that makes us ask, once again, why Hollywood isn’t throwing more leading roles this guy’s way. Every aspect of Gabcik’s personality – his fears and motivations, everything that makes him who he is – is put on display in a subtle yet brilliant performance by Murphy. His job was to portray an “average” man charged with doing extraordinary things that come with a terrible price, and he manages it beautifully. Dornan does a fine job of acting as Murphy’s counterweight. He questions the wisdom of killing one man, knowing that death could lead to the death of thousands in return. He questions whether London has thought this whole thing through sufficiently. He, in fact, questions EVERYTHING. Far from being annoying or distracting, however, this questioning role serves a visible, audible, representation of Gabcik’s conscience. You can see Gancik’s gears turning every time Kubis raises another problem with the plan, forcing him to confront his own doubts about what they are doing. Murphy and Dornan play off each other intuitively and they are a genuine pleasure to watch.  

The supporting cast is solid if unremarkable. Cinemaphiles are treated to Toby Jones once again dusting off his German (Czech?) accent to play a leading role in the resistance. Bill Milner gives a very good portrayal of a teen on the fringe of the resistance caught in the middle of this insanity, and I found his performance to be understated and completely believable. The rest of the resistance and the few Germans who get screen time are well cast and performed, but make no mistake, this is Murphy and Dornan’s movie.  

Movies of this type often suffer from a pacing issue. Thankfully, “Anthropoid” has no problem with this. Director Sean Ellis does such a solid job of ratcheting up the tension, scene by scene, that I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the film. There is one scene where Murphy and his somewhat casual resistance love interest (Anna Geislerova) are simply walking down a street together. Using clever camera cuts and angles, Ellis plants the notion in the viewer’s mind that every single person on that street is, or could be, a Nazi agent following them. The tension and paranoia developed in that one scene were remarkably intense in what was, for all intents and purposes, a simple stroll through town. For a director to successfully pull off that kind of slow yet steady build-up, without boring the audience, is a rare achievement.  

The settings and period costumes for this film are flawless, and I especially appreciated the use of bright colors throughout. There are no drab or dreary background shots that we have become accustomed to in numerous films from this time period. Prague is depicted as very much the vibrant cosmopolitan city that it was at the time. If there is one flaw to this film, it is that Ellis fell victim to the historical tendency to portray Nazi soldiers as overly brutish and remarkable inept. Regardless of their political insanity, German soldiers were highly intelligent and remarkably good at soldiering.  

Independent films can get a bad rap, relegated to limited release and often ending up little more than a director’s pet project that may or may not deserve the money we as viewers spend on the tickets. Every once in a while, though, an independent film comes along that makes Hollywood stand up and take notice. It reminds us of why we love movies and how powerful a storytelling vehicle can be, particularly when bringing past events to life. Edward R Morrow once ended a speech to a television news awards dinner with the following quote:  

“This instrument can teach. It can illuminate and, yes, it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it towards those ends. Otherwise, it is merely wires and lights — in a box.” 

Mr. Murrow was speaking about television in that speech, but he easily could’ve been addressing a convention of independent filmmakers. Far from being merely lights on a screen, “Anthropoid” not only teaches us about our past, it inspires us with the examples of courage, selflessness, and sacrifice that brought our civilization through the five year global calamity that was World War II. So, if you have any interest at all in the history that has shaped the world around us, put down this review, drive to your local theater, and let “Anthropoid” teach you what the word “bravery” really means.  

Good night, and good luck.