"Operation Finale" Review | A Solid If Bloated Thriller
Operation Finale tells the tale of the apprehension of Adolf Eichmann, considered responsible for sending over six million Jews to their deaths during the atrocities of the Holocaust.
We're currently in the midst of the ever-awkward transition between summer's offerings of either great or underwhelming blockbusters and indie films and autumn's big hitters. During this transitional time, it isn't uncommon to come across great films that manage to catch us by surprise. Among this year's late summer releases is Operation Finale, a film that, while an undeniably solid film and featuring a culturally important story, feels that it could have been much greater with some tighter editing to it.
Set in 1960, Operation Finale details the events of the apprehension of Adolf Eichmann, a high-ranking Nazi that oversaw millions of Jews get put on trains to concentration camps. Like many other Nazis after World War II, Eichmann retreated and went into hiding in Argentina. After his son, Klaus, begins dating a Jewish woman (her heritage initially unbeknownst to the Eichmann family), a group of Israeli spies discovers and attempts to capture Adolf Eichmann and eventually put him on trial for the millions of deaths that he was responsible for. Leading this group of Israeli spies is Peter Malkin (played by Oscar Isaac), who has personal reasons for wanting to make the much-deserved punishment of Eichmann become a reality.
This film delivers numerous instances of very intriguing, thrilling drama - well, at least some of the time. Operation Finale is what I would define as a film that's bookended very well, but struggles with what's between those bookends. I was absolutely riveted by the film's opening and closing acts. The first act does a great job of introducing how the main cast of spies come discover Eichmann, and seeing them put their plan of capturing him into motion is genuinely gripping. Moreover, the film's third act of what eventually becomes of Eichmann, delivering some exciting sequences involving individuals that attempt to put an end to his abduction. However, it's the second act where this film falters a bit.
Finale's second act is riddled with a lot of scenes that feel like filler - a lot of scenes that deflated some of my intrigue and investment into what was going on in the plot. The second act still manages to deliver a lot of tense, challenging, and even perplexing scenes, but they're accompanied by just as many bloated scenes that don't feel like they contribute to the larger narrative in a meaningful way. This film clocks in at a little over two hours. While the second act's iffy pacing and consistency don't necessarily kill the film, I do feel that Finale would go from a fine two-hour film to an amazing hundred-minute film if given a tighter edit.
That said, there's much to like about Operation Finale. Among the most noteworthy things about this film are the performances of Oscar Isaac and Peter Kingsley. While I did have a few issues with the inconsistent pacing of the second act, it also managed to deliver some of the most memorable moments in this film. Seeing Peter Malkin, a man who has witnessed the devastation of many Jewish families around him, attempt to understand Adolf Eichmann's warped, manipulative rationale for his actions makes for challenging and intriguing drama.
In particular, there's a moment that truly left me taken aback. Eichmann, acknowledging that Malkin doesn't have any children of his own, states "you don't want children because you fear the future will look like the past". In this moment, a moment where not only do we see the aggression of Eichmann and the extent of Malkin's scarring, but this moment gives great clarity to why this story and this cultural moment matters today. Malkin lives haunted by the losses forced upon Jewish families because of the atrocities of the Holocaust, and he lives in fear that the future will never be without the suffering that plagues his past and present. And yet, Malkin overcame this fear - this hesitation of creating a possibly greater future in spite of the past - since he eventually had children long after the events of the film take place.
Great performances are accompanied by some appealing scenery, with a few specific shots really sticking out to me. There's a particular moment where Klaus, Eichmann's son, is asked by his Jewish girlfriend if her being Jewish really matters that much, and we see a middle shot where we only see part of Klaus' face in a dirty reflection, removing any kind of intimacy with Klaus as a character - easily one of the most effective shots in the whole film.
At the same time, there are also some aspects of Finale's presentation that are a bit jarring. There are a few instances of some odd decisions with the film's score - there are a couple scenes that have pieces of music that don't feel tonally appropriate for scenes they accompany. There are only a few scenes with major-chord-filled, bouncy pieces of music that don't quite feel like they belong here, but these instances stick out quite badly. Maybe these pieces of music were intended to juxtapose with the heavy subject matter, sort of mirroring how popular culture from the era of this film's setting tried to seem happy despite the emerging truths about the atrocities that occurred during World War II? But if that was the intention, it didn't quite land - it came off more as bizarrely distracting.
Operation Finale delivers incredibly thrilling first and third acts which are unfortunately sandwiching a second act that takes a few missteps with its pacing, often lingering on some unnecessary details. Despite that, Finale manages to be an entertaining thriller that captures both an important and fascinating historical moment. While it could have been made a much better film with some tighter structure and editing, this is an undeniably solid historical thriller that covers a story that deserves to be seen.
Final Grade: B-
What did you think of Operation Finale? As always, feel free to join the conversation and let me know what you think!
