In 1965, a team of Mossad agents infiltrate East Berlin in search of a Nazi war criminal.
In 1995, they deal with the consequences of that mission.
Verdict
I want to start by saying this is the best thing that Sam Worthington has ever done, and I liked Bootmen. This is a terrific example of what happens when you put a young actor to work in a cast that forces him to up his game. I completely bought the relationship in 1965 between his character, David, and Jessica Chastain’s character, Rachel. Director John Madden did a great job with his young cast.
However, that was thirty years ago. Since then, we’ve watched Indiana Jones make the Nazis look like goose-stepping fools, and mowed down our fair share in games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor.
If you are too young to remember the Cold War (and Crazy Uncle Rich knows that many of you are), you may not realize why the Mossad had to infiltrate East Berlin, or even that there used to be an East Berlin. This movie is not going to give you any easy information.
Why does any of this matter? The movie does not establish that.
Unfortunately, the structure of the film brings that failure into glaring relief. In 1995, Rachel (now played by Helen Mirren) has a daughter who just wrote a book about her mother’s daring mission. David (now played by Ciaran Hinds) reappears after years of a private mission. He has shocking news: Their target from 1965 is still alive, and threatening to tell the world of his Nazi identity and thus their failure.
I understand why it should matter. In 1965, Rachel was a rarity. Her team’s “success” was proof that female Mossad agents could serve in the field with honor and distinction. I also understand that her daughter’s book built Rachel up to be a hero, and David’s information means coming clean and embarrassing everyone.
I also had a problem with the character of Stephan (Martin Csokas in the 1965 scenes, and Tom Wilkinson in the 1995 scenes). I don’t know if it was the acting, the directing, or the writing, but I never understood why he was so dead set on covering up the team’s mistake from 1965, or why he felt he had so much to lose in 1995.
Because the movie hasn’t done enough to build the importance of the 1965 mission, and because it did not adequately show the consequences in 1995, the whole experience feels flat.
Overall


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