The Debt
Angelika, September 14, 2011
Movie #68 for 2011
In 1966, Rachel (JESSICA CHASTAIN, Tree of Life), David (Australia’s own SAM WORTHINGTON) and Stephan (also Australia’s own MARTIN CSOKAS, The Tree, pictured, right, with Chastain and Worthington) are young Mossad Nazi hunters tracking the “Surgeon of Birkenau” (JESPER CHRISTENSEN, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace), a Joseph Mengele-type character who ran an horrific human experimentation program during the Holocaust.
In 1997, Rachel (HELEN MIRREN, Brighton Rock), David (CIARAN HINDS, The Eclipse) and Stephan (TOM WILKINSON, Michael Clayton) are either coping - or not - with the events of 1966, when a terrible secret threatens to undo them all.
The Debt is a remake of an Isreali film, and is directed by a Brit (TOM MADDEN, Shakespeare in Love, Proof), so it has a distinctly European feel of brain over brawn. I approve. Madden creates a sense of unease and tension in the everyday scenes and discomfort and repulsion in the brutal and violent. And structurally, the film flips around a bit between times to create friction and surprises as the two stories both unfold.
All the actors do very well. Worthington’s accent is unfortunately bad, but he makes up for it with good looks, a sympathetic character and top-knotch non-vocal acting.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Debt. When I was expecting something a less well-developed (the preview, which I have seen several dozens of times, tells only part of the plot), it’s always nice to be given something more interesting than anticipated.
