Movie Review - The Debt

The Debt (2011)

Starring Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Jesper Christensen, Marton Csokas, Ciarán Hinds, and Tom Wilkinson

Directed by John Madden

Despite liking the overall premise and enjoying the acting, something didn't quite click with me after watching The Debt.  I think, ultimately, the "payoff" doesn't quite measure up to the "build-up" and that's always a bit of a disappointment.  Plus, an oddly underdeveloped romantic subplot thrown into the mix doesn't do anything to increase the tension despite attempting to do just that.

The film jumps back and forth between two time periods.  In 1965, we meet the twentysomething Rachel, Stephen, and David (played by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington) -- young Israeli government agents sent to East Berlin to kidnap the infamous Doktor Bernhardt (Jesper Christensen), the Surgeon of Birkenau known for performing heinous medical experiments on Jews during WWII.  Ideally, the trio will be bringing back Bernhardt to Israel to stand trial for his crimes.  Needless to say, entanglements inevitably arise putting a damper on those plans.

In 1997, we are introduced to the elder Rachel, Stephen, and David (played by Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, and Ciarán Hinds).  Thirty years have passed and the group has been celebrated as heroes for decades thanks to their work involving the horrible doctor.  However, the three former agents harbor a great secret known only to the trio and no one else...or so they thought.  When the truth behind their secret runs the risk of being revealed, it may be time for the now senior citizen former agents to head back into the dangerous world of espionage.

As I mentioned, the premise is altogether promising and enjoyable.  And there are also some really nice performances from Jessica Chastain and Helen Mirren, both of whom give their respective portrayals of Rachel much greater depth than I expected.  Still, I can't get over the fact that a love triangle between the three principals just doesn't work and failed to get me invested in any angle of the attempts at amour.  Plus, the older generation's story just doesn't capture the attention like the younger generation's tale.  Although the film jumps around in time (to nice effect actually), the end plays only to the 1997 aspect of the tale and, although it brings the story to a resolution, it proves to be a bit too anticlimactic given the tension achieved in the 1965 segment of the tale.

The Debt certainly isn't a bad film, but it's not one I could really tell anyone to rush and see.  It's adequate, but that's about it.

The RyMickey Rating:  C