The Debt
Excellent actors make all the difference in “The Debt”, an intriguing thriller that fails to hold in suspense until the end. But there is always light Jessica Chastain, when you ask for?
Rachel (Jessica Chastain), Stephan (Marton Csokas) and David (Sam Worthington) is a Mossad agents trying to get hold of a war criminal (Jesper Christensen) in Berlin in 1965. Three decades later, the trio (Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Ciaran Hinds) has to dive back into their memories and relive those days again sensitive to their existence.
Remake of a conscientious Israeli feature film success, “The Debt” is the type of film that deserves a visit just for its distribution. All actors make beautifully the subtlety of their characters, especially the young performers. Discovery in the majestic “The Tree of Life”, Jessica Chastain continues to be intoxicated by her beauty and talent.
She could read the phone book that movie lovers would have eyes only for her. Her being transcends emotion and it is the main transmitter of sensations which are intended sometimes strong. At his side is the hot Marton Csokas, Sam Worthington is far more convincing than in “Avatar” and the troubling Jesper Christensen. Performance of great intensity that impact in their older counterparts. Helen Mirren has never tended to pass before the pressure and she manages to break the ice that holds it all too often trapped. Tom Wilkinson knows all about this kind of a little manipulative individual and Ciaran Hinds is rather affecting even if it almost does not appear on the screen.
The whole is skillfully directed by John Madden. Beginning with a very nice clip (it is the fashion these days in cinema), populated plot of ellipses multiplies returns at the time, plunging the viewer into the black for better enlighten him later.
The climate is seeking to retransmit the old American thrillers of the 1970s (which was also trying to make the recent “The Whistleblower”), is faced with few breaks in tone. The story could have been a spy thriller or a drama about the consequences of World War II, but as usual the filmmaker (who must be “Shakespeare in Love” and “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”) is sometimes preferred more romance. A questionable choice that can work when the action takes place in 1965, but which becomes inoperative in 1997, while the story continues beyond its reasonable limits, getting lost in the transition to serious improbabilities.
Without necessarily explored to their full potential, “The Debt” is sometimes next to his subject. Despite a cast of luxury, a febrile balance between reflection and action as a subtly alert realization, more do nuance and depth would surely not have been too many. That’s all that makes the difference between a good movie and a great film.
