Operation Finale is a partial adaptation of Peter Malkin’s memoir, Eichmann in My Hands, starring Oscar Isaac as the author and Ben Kingsley as Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust. Chris Weitz was a producer of Columbus, one of my favorite movies of 2017, wrote the screenplay for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, one of my favorite Star Wars film, and directed About A Boy, a Nick Hornby adaptation that I loved, and other movies that aren’t as good. Weitz directed this latest in a string of films that chronicle the capture of Eichmann.
I almost didn’t see Operation Finale in theaters for a variety of reasons. Oscar Isaac is a great actor, but he is no guarantee of a quality movie. He has been in quite a few mediocre to dreadful movies that look better than they are: The Promise, Annihilation and Mojave. I’ll never understand the appeal of making a film focusing on the same subject as a prior film that was critically acclaimed. You’re starting at a disadvantage and will probably suffer in comparison. I saw and loved The House on Garibaldi Street, which is an adaptation of a different book by Isser Harel, but I kept incorrectly referencing it as The Man Who Captured Eichmann, which I didn’t see, but clearly still made a stronger impression than Weitz’s film. Because I’m not a historian and don’t have an innate fact checking sense of which movie is more accurate and entertaining, I feel unable to approach the movie with the appropriate critical eye.
Operation Finale was also released a few days before Labor Day weekend, and there were plenty of movies competing for viewers. This movie may have addressed the most important subject matter, but that can have the opposite effect in attracting audiences. What do you eat first? Unless you’re a vegetarian, it probably won’t be the vegetables. You’ll choose carbs or protein. It may not be right, but it is realistic, which is why documentaries, regardless of quality or entertainment value don’t earn as much in the box office. I literally chose to watch seven movies before this one, and it was only because of an unexpected schedule change that I was able to see it during the second week of its showing. I’m also not a typical viewer. I’ve devoted great swaths of my time learning about the Holocaust, but I’d rather have first hand accounts than movies even if the film relies on primary sources. If you’re not getting a person like me, then you’re definitely not getting someone who is less invested in the subject.
Unlike The House on Garibaldi Street, Operation Finale is more invested in the emotional effect of this mission on the Israeli spies than the faith and effectiveness of the logistics of the mission. If the 1970s gave us unrealistic, but unadulterated faith in our governments’ wisdom and ability to do the right thing, then the twentieth first century is about empathizing with the flawed people in charge of important missions and making it seem more achievable for ordinary people to do extraordinary things in difficult circumstances. Sadly I’m making the movie sound better than it felt to watch it.
Operation Finale suffers from a lack of focus. Even though Peter is supposed to be the focus of the movie, he doesn’t take center stage until the second half of the movie, and the most of the other characters seem interesting, but aren’t given enough time to get more than passing notice. The most disappointing character was Hanna, who ended up being nothing more than the Smurfette of the group and largely useless until the end of the film. She primarily functions as a potential love interest and as proof of Peter’s powers of persuasion. There is a neat shout out by the director to his mom, who appears in a clip from Imitation of Life, which is perfectly used to add texture to a brief, but beautiful performance by Haley Lu Richardson.
There are promising attempts to draw parallels between the antagonists and protagonists, but it gets shaky when it moves from Peter versus Eichmann to Peter versus Eichmann’s son, Klaus, as providing a more compassionate and ethical way to accomplish a mission unlike the majority of their group. The Nazis and the Israelis are struggling to write history, but I thought teasing out the slow ascendancy of the Nazis seeking to come out of the shadows would have been more germane to our time. I think that by placing them as equals on the same playing field, the movie inadvertently created a false equivalency as if I should sympathize with both men and sides, and I’m sorry, but I don’t. Klaus was crap before he lost his father, and he was afterwards. It felt as if Carlos Fuldner’s story line was sacrificed for Klaus, and I think that was a mistake. I don’t want audiences relating to someone like Klaus, but if more time was spent on showing Carlos exploiting Klaus’ grief to radicalize him, I think that the movie would be more effective. I think that the movie was trying to evoke something by emphasizing Peter and Eichmann’s sketching and artistic inclinations, but it ultimately went nowhere.
While I know that Argentina’s extradition laws helped the Nazis live consequence free, Operation Finale makes it seem as if the Nazis were authorized to work alongside Argentine law enforcement. I know that it ratchets up the tension of the film, but is that accurate? I have no idea, which is why I may have to read the book. I really wonder if anyone was actually worked up about a missing old man. Also if it is raining, and your gun is pointed up, does that ruin the gun?
Operation Finale bugged me for casting Ben Kingsley as Eichmann. He has played one too many prominent Jewish roles to convince me that he is playing one of the most notorious Nazis of our time. More importantly, I don’t think that he did such a great job, and I’m not sure if it is because of direction or his interpretation of the character. Eichmann should be more understated and indistinct, but by the end, I felt as if he was abruptly invoking Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter, and it did not work for me. If Eichmann historically behaved that way, then I apologize, but Hannah Arendt based her whole theory of the banality of evil based on his trial so I’m thinking that it was a serious error.
I was pleasantly and unexpectedly surprised by one performance in Operation Finale: Michael Aronov as Zvi Aharoni, Peter’s foil. How is it possible that I watch so much TV and so many movies, but never noticed Aronov before this movie? He looks like a young Kingsley, but isn’t related, and he upstages Isaac in every scene that they are in. Bonus: he is hot and charismatic. I expected classic Hollywood handsomeness from Isaac, but Aranov arrived on the scene ready for the spotlight. More Aranov, please!
I don’t think that Operation Finale worked as a cohesive, nuanced narrative, but I appreciate its good intentions. You can wait until it is ready for home viewing, but I would not call it a must see movie unless you are very interested in the cast or the subject matter.