"Anthropoid," based on a true story behind two Czechoslovakian operatives' mission to assassination S.S. General Reinhard Heydrich, should be more engaging and suspenseful than it is. In December, 1941, when Czechoslovakian loyalists Josef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) parachute from London into their nazi-occupied homeland, they must devise a way to implement 'Operation Anthropoid.' As the logistical architect of Hitler's Final Solution to eradicate the Jewish population, Heydrich was known as 'the butcher of Prague' for his ruthless brutality. The narrative lags from their attempt to contact what's left of the Czech Resistance, represented by Ladislav (Marcin Dorocinsk) and 'Uncle' Hajsky (Toby Jones) to their dubious reconnaissance cover of romancing two local girls (Charlotte Le Bon and Anna Geislerova). The only excitement takes place at a local church, where there's a final, six-hour shoot out.
This vital snippet of history warrants more than a simple rehashing of the basic story. The script, co-written by director Sean Ellis and Anthony Frewin, asks us to care, to invest ourselves in the seldom-explored tale of the Czech resistance. But the forced dramatics and lack of character development weakens the movie. No time was spent exploring the personal and psychological toll of war.
Note: A second film about Mission Anthropoid is scheduled later this year, starring Jack O'Connor and Jack Reynold.
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