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Written by Gregg Shapiro
Aug 29, 2011
“The Debt.” – Photo: Courtesy
'The Debt'
John Madden’s English language remake of the 2007 Israeli film “Ha-Hov” is a taut and first-rate thriller with many layers. In many ways, it’s reminiscent of gay filmmaker Eytan Fox’s “Walk On Water.” Nuanced performances by Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington and the increasingly ubiquitous Jessica Chastain also make it a worthwhile experience.
Moving back and forth in time over the course of 30 or so years, “The Debt” begins at an Israeli airport in 1966. Three Mossad agents have returned as heroes following what was supposed to be the successful completion of an important mission in Berlin. The young agents – Sarah (Chastain), David (Worthington) and Stephan (Marton Csokas) – were sent there to track down and kill a Nazi doctor who was known for his butchery in the death camps.
In 1997, the older Rachel (Mirren) attends an event in Tel Aviv where they are paying tribute to her daughter Sarah. The event reunites Rachel with Stephan (Tom Wilkinson), who is now her ex-husband. But it also causes David (Ciaran Hinds) to commit suicide. It turns out the Mossad agents were not really the heroes they were made out to be.
Rachel and Stephan hatch a strategy to finish off the Nazi doctor, who turns out to be alive in a nursing home. “The Debt” pays off with a series of unexpected plot twists and turns, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats until the very end.
