The Debt ****

The role of retired Mossad secret agent Rachel Singer in John Madden’s new espionage thriller, The Debt, is a highly fitting one for the immense on-screen talent, presence and investigative skills of actress Helen Mirren, no stranger to weeding out corrupt elements of society in her stint as TV’s Supt. Jane Tennison. But those banking on seeing Mirren recapturing her glory days will have to contend with her playing a rather enigmatic, if fickle character in this, and sharing screen time – and the younger version of Rachel – with exciting rising star Jessica Chastain.

Beginning in 1997, retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (Mirren) and Stefan (Tom Wilkinson) hear shocking news 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 Chastain, Marton Csokas and Sam Worthington) tracked down and captured Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen) in East Berlin. At great risk and considerable personal cost, the team’s mission was accomplished – or was it?

Madden’s film adopts the non-linear trajectory of bringing us up to speed on past and present events, without over-complicating or confusing matters and affecting the simmering tension this thriller enjoys brewing. In fact, Madden’s story is actually set in the 60s rather than in present day, with Chastain deserving much of the credit for keeping Rachel interesting and sympathetic, but not without giving the final curtain bow to Mirren in a taut and nail-biting end stand-off.

Given general knowledge about events in Nazi concentration camps, the story has its ready-made motive. Each of the agents is tackling a personal loss that intriguingly plays havoc with their deadly mission. However, the more daring side that Madden does not really touch on is the political one of Mossad’s twilight ops. This would be a whole other film altogether, like Munich, when The Debt is really about a powerful love triangle between three people sent to do a dangerous job while leaning on each other for support.

Chastain, Csokas and Worthington make for an appealing dynamic, with three very different character personalities at play at any one time, all switching off when duty requires. It’s the slow deconstruction of their stoic façade by uncontrollable human emotions that gives added depth to an otherwise post-war romantic drama. The women in the film are tougher than usual, too. Chastain as Rachel is the catalyst for many events happening in the film, and does a magnificent job of tying in her accent and responses with those of Mirren who picks up the baton on the failed mission later on. The only niggling point is the changing facial features of all the six protagonists, with Hinds more believable looking as an older Stefan than a mature David.

Still, the defining moment of the film is seeing Mirren in a ‘battle of the OAPs’ at the very end, proving choreographed action scenes are not just the premise of the younger actor, as she pays the price to combat pure evil. The elation at seeing Mirren perform counterbalances the previous lies told by a reticent Rachel, and the story comes full circle in a reflective and poetic finale of resolution.

Madden’s tragic love story set within the thriller sphere plays to all his cast’s strengths by triggering character emotions in situations of fear – even those of the often wooden Worthington as a young David. The Debt also redefines the nostalgic 40s/50s spy thrillers of a by-gone era for a contemporary audience, substituting gritty realism for the glamour, and making things more plausible. In fact, Madden’s The Debt is a diligent fait accompli of the original Israel version, Ha-Hov, by avoiding poking at political hornet’s nest.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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**WATCH THE TRAILER HERE