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The Debt (2010)

Director: John Madden

Time Out rating

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13 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Like ‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy’, this secret agent thriller practically sells itself on the cast alone. Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson are middle-aged Mossad agents trying to clean up an old job. Meanwhile, their younger selves are played by Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and the charismatic Marton Csokas (‘The Lord of the Rings’).

A remake of the Israeli film ‘Ha Hov’, this starts in 1997 when retired Israeli agent Rachel (Mirren) is attending her daughter’s book launch in Tel Aviv. The book hails Rachel and her cohorts as heroes, but flashbacks start to tell a more complicated story. Stephan (Csokas) meets David (Worthington) and Rachel (Chastain) in East Berlin. Their mission is to track down and kidnap Nazi war criminal Dieter Vogel (an excellent Jesper Christensen). Since Vogel is working as a gynaecologist and fertility expert, it falls to the unfortunate Rachel to entrap him by posing as a patient (cue awkward examination scenes). Every time she returns to the flat with the two men, the sexual tension escalates and ultimately threatens the success of the mission.

It’s during these flashbacks that the tone of ‘The Debt’ is at its most confident. The goal is clear, the characterisation absorbing and the suspense only slightly marred by an early apparent giveaway. Chastain is terrific as the young Rachel, giving a performance that’s thoughtful, focused and determined. Csokas is deliciously mischievous and irreverent, while ‘Avatar’ star Worthington puts in a much more layered performance than usual, perhaps thanks to his sensitive character whose troubled emotions flicker across his wordless face.

Back in the ’90s, the plotting isn’t so clear. While the actors are magnificent, Wilkinson looks nothing like Csokas, and Hinds is no ringer for Worthington, so it’s easy to confuse them. Their distracting lack of resemblance to their younger selves is liable to pull the audience out of an otherwise gripping scenario.

But while the ending also pushes credibility, it features a stand-out set piece as the older Rachel reluctantly goes back into action. A respectable woman of a certain age, she’s suddenly forced to confront her demons both mentally and physically, resulting in a pensioner punch-up that would almost be comic were it not for Mirren’s ability to make just about anything believable.

This isn’t as slick as director John Madden’s ‘Shakespeare in Love’ or as commercial as other Matthew Vaughn/Jane Goldman screenplays (interestingly, the third writer is Peter Straughan, who co-wrote ‘Tinker, Tailor…’). Nor is it an entirely coherent film. But ‘The Debt’ tackles themes of humanity, revenge and truth so successfully it’s hard not to find it powerful – even if it’s not the Oscar bait it might have hoped to be. Leave that to ‘Tinker’.

Author: Anna Smith

Time Out London Issue 2145: 29 Sept - 5 Oct, 2011

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User reviews of this film

miles said...

Posted on Oct 20 2011 22:37 the worst melodrama and love triangle ever made on holocaust reducing it to a caricature with miscast characters and boring flashbacks and a joke of a fantasy finale

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andre said...

Posted on Oct 12 2011 19:36 Whilst I admired Tinker, I really enjoyed The Debt a whole lot more. It was just a much more exciting film, particularly the scenes with the "good" doctor! Those scenes in Berlin were some of the most gripping and tense pieces I've seen all year. Highly recommended.

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quite intrigued filmgoer said...

Posted on Oct 12 2011 11:07 Lots of great things about this film, particularly the flashback scenes. However, the plot veered from intriguing to surprising to laughable in a couple of places, which took away from the real drama that was going on. Agree with Phil Ince - the subject matter was a bit tacky. But enjoyable performances made it worth seeing, and the surprising bits of plot made for an on the whole interesting experience.

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Sutton said...

Posted on Oct 10 2011 13:30 Whilst there are some good moments in the film and it is well acted in parts, I came away feeling a little disappointed, particularly given the parties involved. I think the plot and dialogue was lacking in part and the ending was a little unbelievable.

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Phil Ince said...

Posted on Oct 08 2011 10:53 A very odd film. Very effectively made but tacky and cheesy. It's tacky because of the subject matter - evil, death camp Nazi obstetrician is kidnapped from East Germany by 3 glamorous Mossad agents given one-dimensional characters. It's cheesy because its drama all comes from the Israeli agents behaving hysterically and stupidly. At times, its laughable tripe. A very good bad film.

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Violet said...

Posted on Oct 07 2011 09:45 A well-cast, well-acted, Oscar nomination worthy film. I found it gripping, and at times tense enough to be looking at the screen between my fingers. I thought the attention to set detail was very good. The final scene is excellent and doesn’t disappoint.

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scrumpyjack said...

Posted on Oct 06 2011 19:48 Desperate to do more than just "quite like it" but can't. Nasty Nazi/Mossad misery = worthy but a tad dull. JUST cinema worthy thanks to a running time that fully realises it's story has been told. As for TINKER being (just) Oscar bait, MORE Oscar bait PLEASE! 6/10

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philsee said...

Posted on Oct 06 2011 14:28 Overrated and disappointing. Hammish quantities of emotion, not enough intellectual stimulation. Unconvincing situations, predictable outcomes. I was glad when it was over.

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ARCHGATE said...

Posted on Oct 06 2011 09:19 At last ..... Helen Mirren gives a performance worth watching. She is fantastic in this film. The first half has awkward flash-backs, but the second half shifts the film into a different gear and the ending had me on the edge of my seat.

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Andrew said...

Posted on Oct 05 2011 15:47 During this week seen both Tinker Tailor and The Debt. With both films getting vary reviews, found The Debt getting the vote, as this was a better pace and easier to follow. Did find the story going back and forward strange at times , yet will see this one again as really good

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Blaize67 said...

Posted on Oct 05 2011 08:51 Great performances from stellar cast, Mirren and Chastian in particular scintillate. Very well plotted and delivered - visually. One question mark over...is a storey of Mossad agents after an old Nazi really that compelling? The movie makes it a "yes" but I doubt if it woiuld fly with a lesser cast and less btilliant story-telling from the Director.

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Mike said...

Posted on Oct 04 2011 00:13 Having read TO’s fairly enthusiastic review of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, then seen it and walked away thinking it was pants-ish, I was hesitant about another spy thriller in the same fortnight. Anna Smith’s review (above) for The Debt is accurate. That said, I didn’t find the look of the older vs younger actors distracting.
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The story is very well constructed, directed, and cut. At times I felt the pace could have been quicker, but equally the occasionally slower pace lent itself to a fair amount of tension and at one point I was close to standing up and shouting to the actors “Come on – just do it!”
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The quality of acting in this movie is excellent. My only niggle might be how Sam Worthington’s range of emotions lets him down a couple of times – I would have otherwise given this film a very rare 5 stars. A four star movie. Recommended.

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stu said...

Posted on Sep 30 2011 07:28 looking forward to seeing this

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