Debt, The (2010) [Blu-ray]
Drama | Thriller

Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren and two-time Academy Award® nominee Tom Wilkinson star in The Debt, "a pulse-pounding and politically charged suspense thriller." (Karen Durbin, Elle) In 1966, three Mossad agents were assigned to track down a feared Nazi war criminal hiding in East Berlin, a mission accomplished at great risk and personal cost - or was it? Thirty years later, the suspense builds as shocking news and surprising revelations compel retired team member Rachel Singer (Mirren) to take matters into her own hands. Co-starring Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain and Ciarán Hinds, it's the film critics call "an intelligent thriller with superb performances." (USA Today)

User Comment: daniel cann from Devon England, 2 October 2011 • With a screenplay from successful duo Matthew Vaughan and Jane Goldman (among others) and directed by John Madden (Mrs Brown, Shakespeare in Love) and featuring a strong cast 'The Debt' has a great pedigree.

This action drama begins in 1997 with highly touted former Mossad agent Rachel (Helen Mirren) at a party to celebrate the release of her daughter's book based on events that involved Rachel and her fellow former agents Stefan (Tom Wilkinson) and David (Ciaran Hinds). All seems well until the past comes back to revisit them.

The action moves back and forth between1997 and 1965 and the dangerous mission in East Berlin the trio undertook to track down and kidnap a Nazi war criminal, Dieter Vogel (played with a combination of evil charm and chilling menace by Jesper Christensen).

Young Rachel (Jessica Chastain), Stefan (Marton Csokas) and David (Sam Worthington) must accomplish a dangerous mission behind the Iron Curtain. They must deal with the authorities, the cunning Vogel and each other. The question the film poses to the viewer is: did the team succeed? Tension and suspense are deftly built and sustained as the plot continues across the two different time periods. This is a film with a strong subject matter, frenetic and desperate action sequences and is at times highly unsettling and claustrophobic.

See, this is not just your standard thriller with stylish flashbacks. This also explores themes of love, fear, guilt and redemption in a story that unfolds over the course of thirty two years.

Ambitious and hard hitting 'The Debt' gripped me from beginning to end and despite its gritty feel and tough subject matter it managed to move at a good pace and asked pertinent questions. You wonder what you would do in the situations the characters in the film find themselves in which is a strong selling point.

Too often these days film and television takes the moral high ground where a pseudo reality exists where everything is between good and evil and choices are black and white. Well, this film does not patronise the viewer and offers challenging and believable action and dilemmas.

It's not the best thriller I have ever seen, but it succeeds on its own merits thanks to its strong story, capable cast and assured direction.

Summary: Strong action drama.

User Comment: Adam Frisch from London, England, 5 September 2011 • The Debt is a Nazi hunt/spy thriller all rolled into one and it's nice to see a classic thriller that takes the subject matter seriously and relies on suspense to keep us in its grip. I was at the edge of my seat for most of the time and there's plenty of surprising turns in the story to keep even the most jaded enthralled.

Most of todays inept filmmakers rely on blowing stuff up hoping that this will count as suspense. It also is such a breath of fresh air in an appalling year of C -grade superhero movies and obscure comic book adaptations. Hopefully this does well so Hollywood can go back to making well written thrillers and dramas like they used to.

Summary: Great suspense and some genuine surprises.

[CSW] -3.5- It was unique in its story line with the added bonus of great acting. If I could I would give it a rating of -3.5- which is what I think it deserves but given the limitations of a single digit for Netflix I rounded it up to a -4- for the Netflix rating. Read the user comments above as they tend to mirror my thoughts on this movie. It was a "Strong action drama." and had "Great suspense and some genuine surprises."
[V4.0-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.

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