Directed by:
John MaddenCinematography:
Ben DavisComposer:
Thomas NewmanCast:
Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciarán Hinds, Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, Sam Worthington, Jesper Christensen, Romi Aboulafia, Cassandra Church (more)VOD (2)
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The story begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stephan (Tom Wilkinson) about their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds). All three have been venerated for decades by Israel because of the secret mission that they embarked on for their country back in 1965-1966, when the trio (portrayed, respectively, by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington tracked down Nazi war criminal Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen), the feared Surgeon of Birkenau, in East Berlin. While Rachel found herself grappling with romantic feelings during the mission, the net around Vogel was tightened by using her as bait. At great risk, and at considerable personal cost, the team’s mission was accomplished – or was it? The suspense builds in and across two different time periods, with startling action and surprising revelations that compel Rachel to take matters into her own hands. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (10)
If this movie had been made a few years later, Jessica Chastain would have visited Prague sooner than she managed to with the movie Zookeeper’s Wife. I’m sure of that. You see you can feel Prague’s good old architecture from this film, which is also quite similar in Budapest. That’s why they use Budapest to shoot East Berlin every now and then. Nevertheless, I watched this movie mainly because of Jessica, who once again put in an incredible acting performance. It was a bit worse with the story that tries to look very interesting, spy-like and fateful, but it’s actually about one botched operation and the related lie. Nothing too big, nothing too complicated. The atmosphere is definitely good, but you sort of suspect all the time how things will eventually turn out and you have no reason to yearn for the ending from the very start, which is a pity for a movie like this.
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The Debt had its sights set high with its theme and cast but the ambitious script tries to do too many things at once. The genre fusion of a love story with a psychological drama would be fine, but grafting an action thriller onto it was a mistake. I understand the producers' concern that the film should not be too intimate in its nature because adventurous elements simply sell, but at the same time they detract from its credibility and power. The most impressive aspect of The Debt is where, through dialogues, it comes to a confrontation between the characters, a clash of value hierarchies, and strength of will. Scandinavian Jesper Christensen portrays his war criminal as a terrifying monster, a cold-blooded psychopath who never loses his nerve for even a second and does not give up even in seemingly hopeless situations. He is demonic and brilliantly acted, just like Jessica Chastain in the role of the Mossad agent, who represents his antithesis. She is determined but also full of emotions and emotional confusion. Their chilling spark, whether in the office or in an illegal apartment after the doctor's capture, is the premature climax of the film. The film is not harmed by the shifting time frames, but rather by the aforementioned attempt to move the drama into a more appealing genre. The final quarter hour, when there is a final settling of accounts in Ukraine, kills the film's high potential because it pushes it to the brink of absurdity. It could have been a five-star affair, but after the final showdown between the old men, I can only give it three strong stars. Overall impression: 65%.
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Apart from the unnecessarily and artificially escalated ending, it is essentially a meticulously crafted work of art that is atmospheric, excellently acted, and fantastically orchestrated. Those who enjoy dirty Germany, the theme of World War II, and the legendary German butchers will not be disappointed. Jesper Christensen is truly demonic in his role as the main villain. Above all, the dialogues with the Mossad agents are unforgettable. John Madden has always been somewhat soft, but this is a film that might make me start to respect him. It can be watched multiple times, which is quite rare for a film with such a theme.
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Decent craftsmanship. Three Mossad agents vs. a Nazi war criminal. Madden build a convincing atmosphere on both sides of the time line and the actors don’t let him down. I enjoyed the younger members of the cast more, Jessica Chastain is a fox and on the same acting level as Helen Mirren, and even Sam Worthington rocks in Berlin (the scene with the plate). An excellent, nicely tight story with an unexpected, although rather strange ending. And Newman’s music is first rate.
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Very respectable, both as a psychological drama and as a suspenseful thriller. However, it would have been better to focus more on one or the other. The Debt could have then found a more distinctive place in cinema alongside, for example, the dramatic Munich or the thriller Valkyrie, next to which it is more likely to gather dust as it is. John Madden tries at all costs to engage American viewers while intellectually fulfilling Europeans and narrowly misses the mark. Ignore the ending, which is utterly inappropriate and calls my four-star rating into question.
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