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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Debt fuses physical and moral peril as it fuses past and present. In the contemporary half of the story, ex-Mossad agent Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren) tells and retells the story of how she and her fellow agents David Peretz (Ciarán Hinds, Rome) and Stephan Gold (Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom) captured and killed a Nazi war criminal. But in flashbacks to Cold War East Berlin, younger versions of Rachel, David, and Stephan (Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, and Marton Csokas, respectively) play out a significantly different series of events--and the gap between past and present takes its toll on all three in different (and in one case gut-wrenching) ways. Though Mirren, Hinds, and Wilkinson are a powerhouse trio, it's the Cold War scenes that take hold of the viewer. Jesper Christensen (as the Nazi) invests his conversations with Chastain and Worthington with silky insinuation and taunting contempt, building a devastating suspense. Fans accustomed to Worthington in his action-movie roles (Avatar, Clash of the Titans) will be surprised by the gentle vulnerability he shows here, but it's Chastain (The Tree of Life) who captures the movie's emotional core. She and Mirren perform a strange collaboration that can only happen in the movies, building a fierce and brittle woman out of their complementary performances. --Bret Fetzer
DVD Description
The Debt is an espionage thriller that begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches three retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Helen Mirren) and Stefan (Tom Wilkinson) about their former colleague David (Ciarán Hinds). All three have been venerated for decades by their country because of the mission that they undertook back in 1966, when the trio (portrayed, respectively, by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, and Sam Worthington) tracked down Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin. Now, thirty years later, a man claiming to be the Nazi has surfaced in Ukraine and one of the former agents must go back undercover to seek out the truth...
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
This is an exciting drama which also manages to be much more moving than I had expected, and to raise some complex moral issues, rather than be simplistically pro-Mossad as I had feared.
Intense concentration is required to catch all the details and nuances, as the plot is revealed in brief, fast-moving scenes switching back and forth between the 1960s and the 1990s. It is hard to summarise the plot without giving away too much, as I think some previous reviewers may have tended to do.
Essentially, in the '60s, three driven young members of Mossad have been tasked to capture a notorious Nazi doctor,"the surgeon of Birkenau", now practising gynaecology, of all things, in an East Berlin hospital, and to bring him back for trial in Israel. Although there are some major hitches, the three claim to have managed to kill him and are feted as heroes for the next three decades. This accolade is of course questionable since the man has been denied a fair trial, which would have shown the Israelis to be morally superior to their oppressors.
It becomes apparent that the facts are not quite what they seem. The film becomes less of a righteous if fanatical Nazi hunt and more of a psychological drama - the relationship between the three agents, two men and a beautiful woman. The "leader" Stephan is ambitious, David is traumatised by the loss of his entire family, and Rachel also often appears too emotionally vulnerable for the task.
Under pressure, the trio begin to behave in often all too understandably flawed and "human" ways. We see how the captured Doctor Vogel plays on this. I disagree that he comes across as "too nice" because he seems to love his wife: in his lack of real remorse for past crimes, his crude anti-semitism and his ability to manipulate and goad his youthful captors, he is particularly chilling and sinister.
There is also plenty of scope to debate the three agents' various motives for their actions, which cover a wide range: fear, altruism, ambition, personal advantage, to maintain status and the love of others, or simple pragmatism. How should they have behaved at each stage? How would we?
Although some plot details do not hold water when you think about them afterwards, I do not agree that the film tries to cover too much. The complexity seems to me to add to its value and effectiveness. I also do not feel that it loses its way at the end when the fifty-something Rachel sets off for the Ukraine to honour "a debt" and conclude unfinished business. The end of the film is not what you would expect, and leaves matters slightly open for you to draw your own conclusions, which is often the mark of a good film.
Intense concentration is required to catch all the details and nuances, as the plot is revealed in brief, fast-moving scenes switching back and forth between the 1960s and the 1990s. It is hard to summarise the plot without giving away too much, as I think some previous reviewers may have tended to do.
Essentially, in the '60s, three driven young members of Mossad have been tasked to capture a notorious Nazi doctor,"the surgeon of Birkenau", now practising gynaecology, of all things, in an East Berlin hospital, and to bring him back for trial in Israel. Although there are some major hitches, the three claim to have managed to kill him and are feted as heroes for the next three decades. This accolade is of course questionable since the man has been denied a fair trial, which would have shown the Israelis to be morally superior to their oppressors.
It becomes apparent that the facts are not quite what they seem. The film becomes less of a righteous if fanatical Nazi hunt and more of a psychological drama - the relationship between the three agents, two men and a beautiful woman. The "leader" Stephan is ambitious, David is traumatised by the loss of his entire family, and Rachel also often appears too emotionally vulnerable for the task.
Under pressure, the trio begin to behave in often all too understandably flawed and "human" ways. We see how the captured Doctor Vogel plays on this. I disagree that he comes across as "too nice" because he seems to love his wife: in his lack of real remorse for past crimes, his crude anti-semitism and his ability to manipulate and goad his youthful captors, he is particularly chilling and sinister.
There is also plenty of scope to debate the three agents' various motives for their actions, which cover a wide range: fear, altruism, ambition, personal advantage, to maintain status and the love of others, or simple pragmatism. How should they have behaved at each stage? How would we?
Although some plot details do not hold water when you think about them afterwards, I do not agree that the film tries to cover too much. The complexity seems to me to add to its value and effectiveness. I also do not feel that it loses its way at the end when the fifty-something Rachel sets off for the Ukraine to honour "a debt" and conclude unfinished business. The end of the film is not what you would expect, and leaves matters slightly open for you to draw your own conclusions, which is often the mark of a good film.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
A captivating film. Helen Mirren was brilliant as usual. A film that has probably been based on actual facts and circumstances. Will enjoy watching again
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is not an easy thriller but a thoughtful mystery about a sensitive issue - Israeli agents tracking a Nazi war criminal to bring back to justice and what happens when things go wrong and the consequences of people's actions. The script is excellent, the twists are surprising and the acting top rate. it should have been an Academy Award nomination and could easily have won in several categories - film (the artist was charming but......), screenplay (Midnight in Paris?? please! a student film). check it out. Lots of interesting ideas are brought up by it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
When the legend becomes fact, print the legend
In 1966, in an operation reminiscent of the taking of Adolf Eichmann from Argentina, an Israeli unit is sent into East Berlin to kidnap a suspected war criminal. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Aidan J. McQuade
An interesting thriller spanning 2 periods.
Cutting back and forth between the present day where Helen Mirren plays Israeli ex-mossad agent Rachel Singer and the past where Jessica Chastain plays the younger Rachel, the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Benminx
Karma has a way of seeking you out
I go to movies all the time while in release, one to two a week. Seeing Jessica Chastain in both The Help, and Tree of Life, made me decide to see The Debt. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Innerchi
Didn't deliver **SPOILERS**
Started off quite promisingly, get the impression the creators were attempting to make a 70's style gritty thriller, but the younger actors were a little miscast (particularly Sam... Read more
Published 3 months ago by moviegoer
Worth a rent but probably not more
I had some issues with this film. The story seemed somewhat improbable, certainly as regards the way it was shown on screen. Read more
Published 3 months ago by John Chandler
Slick, satisfying spy drama
"The Debt" is a departure for director John Madden. His lighter films include "Shakespeare in Love" and "Mrs. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Huggermugger
A well constructed and well acted film. Thought provoking and...
For me, this was one of those rare films that holds the viewer throughout because of the quality of its construction, the storyline and the acting. Read more
Published 4 months ago by John M
Nazi War Criminal versus a contracted 3.
I did enjoy this film, but I can see why it has been slated.
The film tells the tale of 3 Nazi contract killers who were praised for a target project, that in truth got... Read more
The film tells the tale of 3 Nazi contract killers who were praised for a target project, that in truth got... Read more
Published 4 months ago by T. BROOKES
Bit of a Marmite movie
Like Marmite I suspect you will either love this movie or hate it. Its a good story with a superb cast and the settings are authentic and beautifully filmed. Read more
Published 5 months ago by PJ Rankine
Weighty historic-espionage drama
The Debt is cut into two time-periods (1966 & 1997) so there are 6 actors playing three characters. David is played by Sam Worthington ('66) & Ciarán Hinds ('97), Stefan is... Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. Morris
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