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The Holocaust, and the plight of Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, is given a thoughtful, lyrical treatment in "The Zookeeper's Wife," a drama that deftly employs the talents of star Jessica Chastain and director Niki Caro.
Chastain plays Antonina Zabinski, who with her husband, Jan (Belgian actor Johan Heldenbergh), owns and operates the zoo in Warsaw, Poland. Antonina is shy with people, but a wonder around animals — confident enough to step into the elephant enclosure to deal with a calf's difficult birth.
But as the Nazis invade Poland, the bombing sends many of the zoo's animals into the streets. The German high command orders the zoo closed and most of the animals killed. A few are taken by the Berlin zoo's director, Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl). The Zabinskis keep the zoo open by converting it to a pig farm.
Moved by the plight of their Jewish neighbors, the Zabinskis decide to give over the unused underground animal pens to hide refugees from the Warsaw ghetto. While Jan goes into the ghetto to smuggle out Jews, Antonina keeps the cover at the zoo — which means getting uncomfortably close to Heck, who is on the grounds trying to breed an extinct species.
Caro ("Whale Rider," "McFarland, USA") moves at a measured pace, leaving room for emotional drama within the nail-biting plot. She gently contrasts the idyllic world of the Zabinskis' zoo with the harshness of the Warsaw ghetto, skirting the edge of the PG-13 rating.
Chastain is a wonder, playing Antonina as a demure woman with a core of iron. Her scenes with Heldenbergh ("The Broken Circle Breakdown"), playing a loving couple watching their world upended, are breathtaking in their emotional depth.
Only in the final half-hour, as the plot mechanics overtake the human story and Heck's character devolves into garden-variety villainy, does "The Zookeeper's Wife" start to flag. Given the powerful work Chastain, Heldenbergh and Caro have done up to that point, it's not surprising the movie would falter at the end.
Twitter: @moviecricket —
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'The Zookeeper's Wife'
Jessica Chastain shines as a zoo owner who helps save Jews in World War II Poland.
Where • Area theaters
When • Opens Friday, March 31.
Rating • PG-13 for thematic elements, disturbing images, violence, brief sexuality, nudity and smoking.
Running time • 124 minutes.