Rachel works officially as an English teacher in Tehran, but she is actually a local operative agent in the pay of the Mossad. In this respect, she summarily executes missions without really understanding neither the why nor the who: kill a Russian John Doe within an elevator, copy files from a computer server, import explosive charges in Iran, observe the comings and goings of an Iranian minister from the terrace of a bistro ... until her consciousness reaches saturation and forces her to stop.
With The Operative (2019), Yuval Adler delivers a simple and well-interpreted spy film, especially with the excellent Diane Kruger. In a way, her character of Rachel reminds me of Meursault in L'Étranger (Albert Camus, 1942). But the film is excessively messy with manifold flashbacks as numerous as irritating. Overall, I had a hard time being empathetic with this Rachel. Despite undeniable qualities, this film frustrated me. As a synthesis: 4/5 of 10.
PS: Knowing that the purpose of a coded telephone conversation is to not attract attention of a hypothetical agent of the local counterintelligence services (and in case of failure, to offer a maximal misunderstanding of the conversation), thus with a spy movie beginning with a coded phrase such as « my father is dead, again », it is better not to expect a masterpiece.
With The Operative (2019), Yuval Adler delivers a simple and well-interpreted spy film, especially with the excellent Diane Kruger. In a way, her character of Rachel reminds me of Meursault in L'Étranger (Albert Camus, 1942). But the film is excessively messy with manifold flashbacks as numerous as irritating. Overall, I had a hard time being empathetic with this Rachel. Despite undeniable qualities, this film frustrated me. As a synthesis: 4/5 of 10.
PS: Knowing that the purpose of a coded telephone conversation is to not attract attention of a hypothetical agent of the local counterintelligence services (and in case of failure, to offer a maximal misunderstanding of the conversation), thus with a spy movie beginning with a coded phrase such as « my father is dead, again », it is better not to expect a masterpiece.