The film proved to be a powerful watch and just as viewers felt for Heydrich, Jimenez surprised by switching into a different chapter and perspective of a Czech resistance.
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It is inspiring to see what one can achieve when one is determined and focused. It was however painful to witness what top Nazi officer had achieved when he sets his mind to excel in his job.
“Do you know what the Führer calls him? The Man with the Iron Heart”.
Reinhard Heydrich (Jason Clarke) is regarded as one of the top elites within the Nazi Party who played a significant role towards one of Nazi Germany’s darkest chapter in history – the Holocaust. Based on Laurent Binet’s historical fiction novel HHhH, Director and Co-writer Cédric Jimenez attempts to study the eventual rise of Heydrich that is celebrated as his personal glory and yet condemned by humanity.
It may be difficult to look beyond the atrocities that Heydrich had accomplished, but Jimenez begins the 2-hour drama with Heydrich spending time with his children as a benevolent father before he steps away to put on his Nazi uniform and leadership.
Structured via two proportional halves, the film follows Heydrich as an accomplished German Navy officer who fell from grace and was dishonourably charged and dismissed due to his scandalous affair. It devastated Heydrich, which was observed in a scene of rage, before being picked up and lifted by his fiancée Lina von Osten (Rosamund Pike) to start afresh with their marriage and a new career in the Nazi Party.
The remaining of the first hour saw his rapid rise in ranks and achievements. Shortly after setting up and heading a new counterintelligence unit within the SS (Protection Squadron), Heydrich united all political factions across the various German states with terror.
It would have otherwise pointed towards a personality that was born evil if not for scenes of Heydrich at extermination exercises and at home. At work, he was indifferent towards anyone and was a person who only wanted to ensure that he gets tasks done. At home, he is a stern but caring father to his children as he sits with his son during piano practice.
For Heydrich, it was a job that he was determined to do well in – nothing more. But his drivers would not be understood by his friends and foes. He was so good at his job that he alienated his wife and his final wish on his deathbed was to submit the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” proposal to the Führer.
The film proved to be a powerful watch and just as viewers felt for Heydrich, Jimenez surprised by switching into a different chapter and perspective of a Czech resistance. While it was initially confusing and reluctant to enter the second half, it gradually dawned upon the audience that it was to place a check upon Heydrich’s story. What matters to the world are Heydrich’s acts against humanity – it doesn’t matter why he did it.
Key characters in the overdrawn second half were not given sufficient depth for viewers to relate to them. Performances were also not as strong as those by Clarke and Pike in the first half that was very compelling to watch. Despite being the right side to root for, the Czech resistance fighters did not manage to get their job done and concluded with a tragic fate.
It further supports the notion that the key difference to excel and achieve is how strong one’s will and determination is, and not whether the cause is right or wrong. Heydrich died but his legacy lives on – making the Nazi Party even stronger and more powerful. The resistance was like water against rocks – and went away just like that.
Against the grandeur moving scores by Guillaume Roussel, The Man with the Iron Heart would have excelled and got the job done if not for the excessive second half.
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