The Debt
Director: John Madden
Cast: Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas, Jesper Christensen, Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson
Releasing in cinemas: 10 November 2011
Rated: M
A price to
be paid
Film
critics like to bandy about the term "gripping" to describe a
particularly engaging film. The epithet however has never been more
appropriate though than for John Madden's intense thriller, The Debt. Indeed, I felt physically
"gripped" while watching the film, and that is a rare thing for a movie
to achieve.
This is the American (although really quite
international) remake of Assaf Bernstein's 2007 Israeli film of
the same name, with much bigger names in the cast and English as the
main language. Thankfully, Madden and his writing team of Matthew
Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan haven't played around too much
with the source material. The key features of the film remain intact,
although naturally some details are changed; and if anything, the new
version is even more dramatic.
The film opens in Tel Aviv in 1997, where journalist Sarah Gold (Romi
Aboulafia) is launching her book. Sarah's mother Rachel Singer (Helen
Mirren) and father Stefan Gold (Tom Wilkinson), along with David Peretz
(Ciaran Hinds), comprised a Mossad squad that captured notorious Nazi
war criminal Dr Deiter Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin in
1965. Sarah's research confirms the celebrated story of how, in a
struggle with Vogel, Rachel was seriously injured, but still managed to
gun him down as he tried to escape. However, on the day of the book
launch, David kills himself. Rachel and her ex-husband Stefan must now
confront what happened in East Berlin all those years ago; and try to
make right what went wrong.
Madden intercuts scenes of the team's efforts in East Berlin; where the
three team members are played by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas and
Sam Worthington respectively. Some may find the flitting between 1965
and 1997 somewhat disconcerting, as it's at times a little unclear
which of the men is which (I admit I was confused at times, but then
things "clicked").
The screenwriters' real achievement here is that
both 'segments' of the
film are equally engrossing. The central action in 1965 East Berlin is
book-ended by scenes in 1997 Israel, but each of the 'blocks' of story
is compelling in its own right. If there is a flaw in the script, it's
perhaps that it feels a bit flabby towards the end, with at least one
'false ending'. There are also a couple of minor incongruities, but I'm
happy enough to let them go.
A key aspect of the film is how the interpersonal relationships of the
protagonists interact with the thriller elements. The dynamics among
the team in East Berlin, the relationship between Rachel and Stefan in
1997, even the interaction between Rachel and Vogel in several key
scenes is handled skilfully by Madden. Some of this stuff could easily
have strayed into soap opera territory, but the director keeps it
steadfastly on the rails. Madden is undoubtedly a talented director, as
films like Shakespeare in Love
(for which he scored an Oscar nomination) and Proof attest; although he also has
the execrable Captain Corelli's
Mandolin on his resume.
The cast is uniformly terrific. It might be the way the actors were
shot (and if so, kudos to cinematographer Ben Davis) but I for one
could fully accept that Helen Mirren (The
Queen) and Jessica Chastain (The
Tree of Life) were the same person 30 years apart. Both are
excellent in their roles, largely carrying their respective parts of
the film. I wasn't as convinced by the resemblances between Tom
Wilkinson (Valkyrie) and
Marton Csokas (Alice in Wonderland),
and
Ciaran Hinds (The Eclipse) and
Sam Worthington (Avatar), in
their roles; but it barely matters because each of them is entirely
convincing. Jesper Christensen (Quantum
of Solace) has possibly the most difficult role as the former
Nazi, but pulls it off in style.
While certainly not the lightest film you'll see this year, The Debt is compelling and
intriguing stuff. It's a spy thriller, a relationship drama, a
contemplation on truth - and just a darn good story - all in one. Go
see it.
David Edwards