The Debt
Starring: Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Tom Wilkinson, Marton Csokas
Director: John Madden
Rating: 4/5
There were a handful of political thrillers that hit the big screen during 2011 but The Debt seems to be one that slipped under the radar - despite it’s super cast.
In 1965, three young Israeli Mossad agents on a secret mission capture and kill a notorious Nazi war criminal.
Now, thirty years later, a man claiming to be the Nazi has surfaced in the Ukraine and one of the former agents must go back undercover to seek out the truth.
This is a great script and the writing talents of Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn are one again on show as they blend modern day with memories from the past.
The movie tackles themes such as humanity and revenge as the three agents struggle with the weight of responsibility of the task that has been given to the, especially when things go wrong, and with living a lie afterwards.
This movie is filled with tension from the very start and it doesn’t just focus on the action aspects of the script the emotional side is just as powerful and interesting - as they all struggle to live with a lie.
The entire cast are great Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain and Marton Csokas put in great performances as the three young Mossad agents tasked with bringing the Nazi killer back to Israel.
Chastain’s performance in particular is superb as she shows why she is an actress that everyone is talking about.
She is strong and vulnerable at the same time as she struggles to hold herself together with Vogel, played pitch perfect by Christensen, whist being torn between two men.
Helen Mirren’s performance is also great as he struggle with the truth looms over the entire movie, despite her being missing for huge chunks of it - it’s great to see an older actress given the chance to taken on this kind of action role.
John Madden has directed this quite masterfully as he jumps back and forth between the two time frames effortlessly.
He also mixes action with emotional and this just as much about characters and their emotions as it is about action and exciting set pieces.
The Debt is a really exciting political thriller than is tension filled and engaging right up until the final frame.
The Debt is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw