THE DEBT
Now playing at Fifth Avenue, International Village
Don't mess with the Israeli Intelligence and Secret Operations agency. If a rookie Mossad agent can go from translator to killing machine overnight, there's no stopping them.
Rachel (Helen Mirren) can't escape her violent past. She's lauded as a heroine in her native Israel, where she gives speaking engagements and is on a publicity tour in support of her daughter Sara's account of her heroics.
There were three of them on that secret mission to Berlin after the war: Rachel (played in younger years by Jessica Chastain), David (Avatar's Sam Worthington) and the leader, Stephan (Marton Csokas). But when it came time to bring the notorious "Surgeon of Berkinau" (Jesper Christensen) to justice, it was Rachel who pulled the trigger. Wasn't it?
All is not what it seems. That much we know from the worried, meaningful glances exchanged by the grownup Rachel and Stephan, her ex. The action ping-pongs between Tel Aviv in 1997 and Berlin in 1966, as we catch glimpses of what has made this trio of heroes so nervous.
Young Rachel is a rookie Mossad agent on her first real mission when she is paired with David. Still deeply scarred by the loss of his family in the war, David can't make his feelings for Rachel known. Enter Stephan, who callously takes advantage of them both. When their mission to bring the Nazi back to Israel to stand trial goes horribly wrong, the threesome come up with a plan that will continue to haunt them 30 years later.
"Truth is a luxury," says Stephan, who has built a top career out of the lie. Is a lie permissible when it's in the service of national pride? When it soothes more than it hurts? The story leaves us wondering until the very end which way Rachel's moral compass will tilt.
Director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) knows that suspense is found in the little things, like rain dripping in a bucket, or the forcefeeding of a captive. Ask your girlfriend, however, and she'll tell you that Rachel getting a pelvic exam from a monster-the Nazi is now Ob/ Gyn to what is left of East Berlin's upper middle-class-is the scariest scene in the film.
Look to Stephen Spielberg's Munich for similar ground; without the high calibre of acting, The Debt would be in danger of becoming just another Nazi-hunting film. Standout Jessica Chastain builds on her other films this year (Tree of Life, The Help) while Helen Mirren rebounds from her part in the dreadful remake of Arthur.
The love triangle is expertly drawn, and the espionage factor is high. Chases through the streets of Berlin, a pulse-pounding scene at a train station, and brutal hand-tohand combat keep the action rolling. The movie runs about 20 minutes longer than the 2007 film Ha-Hov, on which it's based, but thanks to the ingratiating performances of its cast, we're happy to stay until the bitter(sweet) end.
