This is the final installment of Movies I Watched On My Voyage To India. The reason I left this movie for last is because I actually forgot I had seen it on the plane until now. Chalk it up to the Ambien and jet lag - I'm hoping it isn't early-onset dementia.
The Debt follows the story of three Mossad agents (Mossad is the Israeli intelligence agency) who were part of a mission in 1965 to find the Surgeon of Birkenau, a Nazi doctor who conducted horrific human experiments during the Holocaust but went unpunished and continues to live a safe and prosperous life in East Berlin. The agents are David (Sam Worthington, giving a very understated and compelling performance), Rachel (Jessica Chastain in one of her many marvelous performances this year), and the mission leader Stefan (Martin Csokas, who makes this character hard to love but hard to hate). The movie begins as the three agents return to Israel, and in scenes set later in 1997, we find that they are still lauded as heroes and Rachel's daughter is publishing a book that describes their mission. We are shown the events of that night, but the thrill of the film comes later as we start to understand that the accepted account of this mission might not be wholly accurate.
As if the trio playing the young agents isn't impressive enough, the actors playing the aged agents in 1997 are a powerhouse of acting talent. Helen Mirren plays the older Rachel, who doesn't like to talk about the mission, least of all with her daughter, while Tom Wilkinson plays Stefan, Rachel's now ex-husband and father of her daughter, who has provided all the details that have made their way into the book. Ciaran Hinds rounds out the trio as David - I won't divulge his fate here, because his relationship with Rachel, both in 1965 and later after the mission, form an essential part of the narrative.
The movie completely dupes you into believing that what you saw was real, and then turns the tables. I felt rather gullible for believing the evidence of my eyes, but alas you can't always trust what you see. The story is urgent and intriguing, and your desire to discover the truth will keep you engaged even during the bits that are more ploddingly-paced. The film does get a little out of hand towards the end when we wholly return to the present and Helen Mirren gets to engage in some action sequences of her own. At that point things start to drag and you're ready for matters to reach a rapid resolution. But the scenes set in the past are exciting, both in terms of the slick execution of the mission to kidnap the doctor and also when you observe the taut and confusing relationships between the three agents as they try to figure out their own complex motives and emotions.
Ultimately, the movie has a good story and a stellar cast, but all the elements just don't come together in a perfect package. Perhaps the problem is that everything revolves around one twist, and once you are told what really happened that night in 1965, you have to sit back and just wait for the movie to end. The actors are doing their best to keep you invested in their characters, but even they can't keep you engaged until the bitter end. So I can't heartily recommend this movie, but neither can I dismiss it. It's one of those movies that are great to watch if it comes up on your cable line-up on a rainy day and you need to watch something without getting too involved. That's a tepid recommendation at best, but hey, you could do a lot worse.
The Debt follows the story of three Mossad agents (Mossad is the Israeli intelligence agency) who were part of a mission in 1965 to find the Surgeon of Birkenau, a Nazi doctor who conducted horrific human experiments during the Holocaust but went unpunished and continues to live a safe and prosperous life in East Berlin. The agents are David (Sam Worthington, giving a very understated and compelling performance), Rachel (Jessica Chastain in one of her many marvelous performances this year), and the mission leader Stefan (Martin Csokas, who makes this character hard to love but hard to hate). The movie begins as the three agents return to Israel, and in scenes set later in 1997, we find that they are still lauded as heroes and Rachel's daughter is publishing a book that describes their mission. We are shown the events of that night, but the thrill of the film comes later as we start to understand that the accepted account of this mission might not be wholly accurate.
As if the trio playing the young agents isn't impressive enough, the actors playing the aged agents in 1997 are a powerhouse of acting talent. Helen Mirren plays the older Rachel, who doesn't like to talk about the mission, least of all with her daughter, while Tom Wilkinson plays Stefan, Rachel's now ex-husband and father of her daughter, who has provided all the details that have made their way into the book. Ciaran Hinds rounds out the trio as David - I won't divulge his fate here, because his relationship with Rachel, both in 1965 and later after the mission, form an essential part of the narrative.
The movie completely dupes you into believing that what you saw was real, and then turns the tables. I felt rather gullible for believing the evidence of my eyes, but alas you can't always trust what you see. The story is urgent and intriguing, and your desire to discover the truth will keep you engaged even during the bits that are more ploddingly-paced. The film does get a little out of hand towards the end when we wholly return to the present and Helen Mirren gets to engage in some action sequences of her own. At that point things start to drag and you're ready for matters to reach a rapid resolution. But the scenes set in the past are exciting, both in terms of the slick execution of the mission to kidnap the doctor and also when you observe the taut and confusing relationships between the three agents as they try to figure out their own complex motives and emotions.
Ultimately, the movie has a good story and a stellar cast, but all the elements just don't come together in a perfect package. Perhaps the problem is that everything revolves around one twist, and once you are told what really happened that night in 1965, you have to sit back and just wait for the movie to end. The actors are doing their best to keep you invested in their characters, but even they can't keep you engaged until the bitter end. So I can't heartily recommend this movie, but neither can I dismiss it. It's one of those movies that are great to watch if it comes up on your cable line-up on a rainy day and you need to watch something without getting too involved. That's a tepid recommendation at best, but hey, you could do a lot worse.
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| The 1965 trio, steeped in terror and turmoil |
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