What’s a movie as superbly crafted thriller as “The Debt” doing in theaters this time of year?
Movie fans know the tail end of summer represents one of the two worst windows for film releases – the other being the month of January. But “The Debt” could be parachuted into any calendar page and still outshine the competition. It’s a ripping yarn with a twist that not only makes sense but adds to a rousing finale.
Helen Mirren stars as Rachel, a retired Mossad agent basking in the glow of her daughter’s new book release. The tome recalls Rachel’s capture of Dieter Vogel, better known as the Surgeon of Birkenau, one of the Holocaust’s greatest monsters.
The story soon flashes back to 1966, and Rachel (“The Tree of Life’s” Jessica Chastain) along with two fellow agents (Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas) are planning to kidnap Dieter (Jesper Christensen), living anonymously as a gynecologist in East Germany.
Rachel poses as a patient to get close enough to Dieter to confirm his identity. Meanwhile, her fellow agents are torn between completing their complicated mission and feelings they’re developing for Rachel.
And can you blame them? Young Chastain is more than just another cinematic stunner. She can summon a crush of conflicting emotions at any given time. And director John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”) put her talents to good use, particularly when she’s in those stirrups and Dieter is probing her insides. “The Debt” doesn’t bog the viewer down with Holocaust flashes. We see Rachel examining a few of the photos taken during Dieter’s surgical days, and the look on her face is more than enough.
The film is mainly told in flashback, but the bookending chapters let Mirren and co-stars Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson play the Mossad agents in the present – 1997, to be exact. The actors look just enough like their younger “selves” to make the connection click.
“The Debt” scores on a host of levels, from an improbable love triangle to a morality tale about dealing with an amoral soul. Christensen is wicked to the core as Dieter, even when he’s acting in a professional capacity. He can burrow deep into your neuroses one minute, and then express profound sympathies the next.
The film’s only flaw is its weakest casting link. Worthington remains better suited for action vehicles where the pyrotechnics camouflage his still underfed chops. But lookout for Csokas, a combustible performer who brings the intensity felt by the agents perilously close to the edge.
“The Debt” hits theaters before the annual glut of Oscar contenders, but critics shouldn’t let such dizzying craftsmanship escape their thoughts while tallying up the year’s best achievements.
(Photo: Helen Mirren plays a retired Israeli spy trying to escape her past in “The Debt.” Focus Features. Photo credit: Laurie Sparham)
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