Directed by: John Madden
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, and Marton Csokas
Reviewer: Brett Gallman
Reviewer's Rating: ** (Two Stars)
A trio of Israeli special agents are haunted by a thirty-year old mission to bring a Nazi war criminal to justice that earned them international acclaim; when secrets begin to emerge, it seems that their acclaim may have been undeserved, which forces them to relive and rectify their past deeds. There’s theoretically quite a web of intrigue here as the film clumsily bounces between past and present while mixing together pulpy espionage, an intimate love triangle, and political ruminations on the power of truth. It does none of these things particularly well despite its impressive cast. I feel like any film that has a character portrayed by both Jessica Chastain and Helen Mirren should probably be much more interesting, but I often felt disengaged. Perhaps if the film had committed itself to one mode, it could have succeeded; it eventually hedges its bets on being a sort of thriller, which is probably why the climax features Mirren tussling with Jesper Christensen in a bathroom for a geriatric showdown for the ages (actually, doesn’t that sound like something that would be in Red?)
Christensen is enjoyable as the film’s mad doctor, who actually qualifies as complex by this script’s standards. Both charismatic and cruel, he eventually employs words to cut deep into his foes. I wish he could have cut a bit more deeply to truly reveal their complexities, as both Worthington and Csokas essentially boil down to standard types: the former is the dutiful, taciturn one, while the latter feels both dangerous and pragmatic. Chastain is caught in the middle as the love sub-plot wedges itself into the narrative. Like the rest of it, even this is a bit undercooked; maybe it’s because the film elliptically hits all the high points but fails to capture the weight of it all.
Ultimately, the film sags due to the weight of the turgid screenplay that often renders everything a little bit too inert. Average on all fronts, The Debt sells both its cast and its characters short by refusing to commit to them.
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