Anthropoid

[peter]

The book Hhhh which tells the story of the operation in Prague to kill final solution architect Reinhard Heidrich was always going to be a difficult one to convert to the screen, but this film makes a pretty good fist of it. Cillian Murphy heads a cast of lesser known faces (with the exception of Toby Jones) in a gripping tale of almost suicidal bravery in the face of a terrifying threat.
The film captures the sheer brutality of the regime that 'the butcher of Prague' imposed upon the city under his jack-booted heel, and overlays it with a drama in which the human failings of his killers are never hidden. Leading up to a nail biting finale, one is at times almost overwhelmed by the sheer horror of the situation the people find themselves in and the stark realities of the decisions they were forced to make. One cannot but question how in such circumstances ones own responce would have measured up - and pray to whatever God's there may be that it is not put to the test. The city itself is rendered with a high degree of accuracy and the screenplay is never less than convincing.
Murphy and Dornan as Gabcik and Kubis respectively both own their roles and the true life tensions that existed between the focused Gabcik and the more impulsive Kubis are highlighted as both Chech and Slovak come to terms with the almost inevitable finality of the job they have been given and the equally inevitable repercussions that they know will be visited upon the innocent heads of their fellow countrymen. Compulsive viewing in it's 'under the radar' way, this is an important story that deserves to be told. God bless you Jozef and Jan, we are humbled by your sacrifice.