The Operative (film)

The Operative is an 2019 internationally co-produced thriller film, written and directed by Israeli filmmaker Yuval Adler, based on the Hebrew novel The English Teacher (המורה לאנגלית) by Yiftach Reicher-Atir, a former intelligence officer. It stars Diane Kruger, Martin Freeman and Cas Anvar.

It had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 10, 2019. It was released on August 2, 2019, by Vertical Entertainment.

Plot
Rachel (Diane Kruger) is a rogue spy from Israel's national intelligence force Mossad. She vanishes without a trace while attending her father's funeral in London. The only clue to her whereabouts is a cryptic phone call she places to her former handler Thomas (Martin Freeman), who is then summoned from Germany to Israel by Mossad. With Rachel's life immersed in her assignments as part of a vast espionage effort against Iran's nuclear program, Thomas must retrace her steps to determine what threats she may now pose to their operation, while also working to protect her.

Cast
 Diane Kruger as Rachel
 Martin Freeman as Thomas
 Cas Anvar as Farhad
 Liron Levo as Dan
 Yaakov Zada Daniel as Aran
 Ohad Knoller as Stephen

Production
In February 2018, it was announced Diane Kruger and Eric Bana had joined the cast of the film, with Yuval Adler directing from a screenplay he wrote. Eitan Mansuri, Anne Carey, Michael Weber and Viola Fügen would serve as producers on the film under their Spiro Films, Archer Gray, Match Factory Productions banners, while Teddy Schwarzman would serve as an executive producer under his Black Bear Pictures banner. In May 2018, Cas Anvar and Martin Freeman joined the cast of the film, replacing Bana.

Release
The film had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 10, 2019. Shortly after, Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on August 2, 2019.

Reception

Box office
The Operative  grossed $0 in North America and a total worldwide of $1.4 million.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 41%, based on 32 reviews, and an average rating of 5.11/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Diane Kruger delivers an appropriately steely performance, but The Operative pursues a forgettable mission that fans of the genre will find all too familiar." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

References

External links
 
 
 The Operative at rogerebert.com

Category:2019 films
Category:American films
Category:German films
Category:French films
Category:German drama films
Category:French drama films
Category:American thriller drama films
Category:French thriller films
Category:German thriller films
Category:Vertical Entertainment films