ANTHROPOID (UK/Czech/France 2016) **
Directed by Sean Ellis

Review by Gilbert Seah

The word ANTHROPOID comes from‘Operation Anthropoid’, the real life plan initiated by the Czechoslovakian Government to assassinate one of Hitler’s top right hand men, Reinhard Heydrich (aka the butcher of Warshaw) during World War II.

If a film has ever failed because of overeagerness, ANTHROPOID is the one. Despite sharing a few excellencies in certain departments like in costume and sets, the film, co-written directed and photographed (Ellis is both cameraman and cinematographer) has too much in the hands of its director.

Ellis is also not one for subtlety, He wants his audience to feel what is happening. His hand held, jittery camera method used in the end shoot-out climax, with the sound turned up several notches ends up giving the audience a headache more than anything else. To show the hero with trembling hands unable to pull the trigger more than once is nagging the audience. In Hitchcock’s torture scene in TOPAZ, no torture need be seen. The tortured were only shown after the torture in each other’s arms when the woman whispered the name, barley audibly “Juanita” to Fidel Castro. In ANTHROPOID, as if the tortured man’s explicitly shown broken hands broken were not enough, he has to scream out loud “the church”, the place where the hidden paratroopers are hiding. The tortured man was also shown the head of his mother in a bucket that was more laughable than scary.

For a film so controlled by its director, it is surprising that the film goes totally out of control in its last 20 minute climatic scene – the takeout in the church by the Germans. It is an extended and tedious scene, where the hero shoots and kills dozens of German soldiers while dodging bullets, grenades and other artillery. The shot of ‘Uncle’ (Toby Jones), the Resistance Fighter head losing his glasses and clambering to find his dropped cyanide pill before the Germans break down the door is nothing more than cheap theatrics.

It would also be good if the Germans were not always featured as bad guys with no redeeming qualities. In THE EAGLE HAS LANDED, there was a nice touch of a German soldier, part of an invasion in an English hamlet, died saving a drowning girl.

Nothing is mentioned of the priest who harboured the paratroopers in his church or the aftermath of Hitler’s retaliation to Heydrich’s assassination. Hitler slaughtered at least 1300 innocent Czechs in retaliation. But to be fair to Ellis, he has one scene where “Uncle” warns the two (Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy) of their mission: “Do you know Hitler will tear Prague apart? The question is whether Prague is ready to resist Nazi Germany.”

ANTHROPOID is not the first film about the assassination of a high ranking official during the War. VALKYRIE, MAN HUNT and the most famous, John Sturges’ THE EAGLE HAS LANDED (about Hitler’s plan to assassinate Winston Churchill) come to mind. The latter film remains the best of the lot, and though totally fictional is more believable than ANTHROPOID which is based on actual events.

ANTHROPOID finally emerges as an earnest film based on historical facts unfortunately spoilt by its director turning it out to look more like an action flick.