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Is it worth $10? No
“The Debt” is what happens when compelling narrative is undone by poor storytelling. The plot – about ex-Mossad agents living a lie of heroism for 30 years, and the origins of that lie – is fascinating to be sure. So why an experienced director like John Madden (“Shakespeare In Love”) didn’t tell it in a more organized, clear way is anyone’s guess.
As it begins in 1997, ex-Mossad agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stephan (Tom Wilkinson) have a tense meeting after learning their former partner, David (Ciaran Hinds), is dead. Did David reveal something about their past that he shouldn’t have?
Flash to 30 years earlier. Rachel (Jessica Chastain), Stephan (Martin Csokas) and David (Sam Worthington) are in East Berlin trying to kidnap “the surgeon of Birkenau,” Nazi doctor Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen). The plan is to send him back to Israel so he can stand trial for war crimes, but when things don’t work out the trio has to improvise. Secret pacts are made, profound guilt is felt, and the shocking truth is dangerously close to being revealed.
The elements of the story are fine, but the way they play out is clunky and disjointed. Madden goes for long chunks of time in the past before cutting back to ’97, then back to the past again for another stretch. Structurally in movies like this the actions in the two timelines have to complement and/or reflect one another in a logical way. But there’s not much discernible logic here, and as a result it plays like a series of scenes from the same story that don’t form a cohesive whole.
The performances, however, are stellar. Jessica Chastain is an up-and-coming star (she was also in “The Tree Of Life” and “The Help”), and playing a younger version of Helen Mirren is no easy task. Chastain has serious talent behind her quiet beauty, and the angst young Rachel feels nicely reflects the torment Mirren also brings to the character. The men are solid as well, particularly Christensen as the vile doctor – his calm invectives and menacing demeanor may remind some of Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds,” though his performance is not on that level.
Sometimes movies disappoint because they don’t fulfill our pre-conceived expectations. This may be fair or not, depending on how much the trailers and other ads have heightened the hype. But in the case of “The Debt” it’s disappointing as a result of not being told as well as it should’ve been. All the pieces were in place, so there’s no excuse for this shortcoming.
Did you know?
This was adapted from a 2007 Israeli film with the same title.
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Gomenzalez1000
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... I really enjoyed this film and not for one second felt bored because it felt like it was being dragged out unneccesarily. This is the best work I've seen from Sam Worthington and was surprised to see that he does in fact have some range. My only quam with this film, which is pretty similar to your complaint Dan, is that I felt it would have been more effective with parallel editing as opposed to one long chunk in the past and one long chunk in the present. My question to you Dan, is this the case because of poor directing or poor editing? I know the director guides the editor, but the editor still has some room to maneuver. |
inboost
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... i think that this is an ok movie. the trailers are misleading and the movie drags along in places. i would not spend 10 bucks to see this movie. |
Eric535
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... The acting was very good. The overall storyline was great. Nice to see a different type of movie this summer as well. I agree with Dru_star being a very solid film. |
Bunnygod
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... With ya on this... For a spy movie, there really wasn't that much espionage... the got the Doctor... the Doctor got the better of them.. and that's pretty much it. Helen Mirren wasn't as active as I was expecting (like in Red). It was kinda like watching my parents get ready for something. Dad spends all day bitching to Mom, she whines all day about her aches and pains, then she finally gets up and does the total opposite of what he asked.  |
Dru_Star
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... I didn't know what to expect coming into this movie & I was pleasantly surprised. The acting was great all around. I very solid film. One of the better pictures I've seen all summer |
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