FeatureFilm
The Debt
- Rated: R16 - Contains violence and offensive language.
- Running Length:1hr 54mins
- Cast:Sam Worthington, Ciaran Hinds, Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Marton Csokas
Session Times
Summary
Based on Israeli film Ha-Hov, The Debt is a cut above your average crime thriller. Cutting between events in 1966 and 1997, the film opens in Tel Aviv where a retired Mossad agent’s sudden death stuns his former partners, Rachel and Stefan. This forces them to look back at the events in 1966 which brought them together.
In East Berlin, the trio were on the hunt for Nazi war criminal Dieter Vogel, the Surgeon of Birkenau. David’s death coincides with the publication of a book by Rachel’s daughter Sarah. Telling the story of the triumphant mission and her mother’s role in it, the book opens up raw wounds for Stefan and Rachel and they are forced to deal with the fact they have lived with a lie for almost 30 years.
The cast is universally outstanding, with the past and present melting almost seamlessly together through the actors playing the older and younger versions of the characters. Marton Csockas amd Jessica Chastain deserve every ounce of praise they get for their handling of these complex and challenging roles. The love triangle that plays out between the three is handled with subtlety and nuance so its resonance is felt and understood 30 years later.
This is a powerful, intelligent film with enough action and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. Don’t miss it!