There’s usually no point to a remake. No artistic point, anyway — there’s no denying that many of them make money. “The Debt,” however, gets a pass. John Madden’s new film is a remake of the 2007 Israeli film of the same name, which was never released in the United States. Its story is so compelling and the substance so incisive, we should applaud Madden for bringing a more accessible version of it to American audiences.
Madden’s thinking-man’s thriller is well-executed, a film filled with controlled tension whose eruptions are rarely expected. The film was inspired by the capture of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960, but it’s an entirely different drama.
| On screen |
| ‘The Debt’ |
| 3.5 out of 4 stars |
| Stars: Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas |
| Director: John Madden |
| Rated: R for some violence and language |
| Running time: 114 minutes |
The story opens, after a startling introduction I won’t spoil here, with a woman in Tel Aviv reading from her just-published book. “We should never forget how young they were,” she says. Rachel Singer, the woman’s mother, was just 25 when she crossed into East Berlin. Her two co-conspirators weren’t much older. Yet they carried out a daring mission: They captured and killed Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen), known to the world as the Surgeon of Birkenau, a man who committed almost unbelievable atrocities on the inmates of that concentration camp.
But the three seem reluctant to revel in their glory. Rachel (Helen Mirren) is uncomfortable when asked to read from her daughter’s book; Stephan Gold (Tom Wilkinson), the father, shares meaningful glances with his ex-wife; David Peretz (Ciaran Hinds) simply disappeared. They’re forced to confront their past, though, just as they were compelled to confront unspeakable crimes when they were young Mossad agents.
The story is told in flashback, as the trio remembers the mid-1960s mission that took them to Germany in pursuit of a monster. The young Rachel (Jessica Chastain), Stephan (Marton Csokas) and David (Sam Worthington) find their loyalties and ideals questioned, not just by the mission, but by each other.
And, of course, by the devil in the room — quite literally. Stephan, the commandant, instructs the others not to talk to or listen to Vogel. It’s too tempting, though, to use the situation to try to understand what happened in Germany during the war.
Here, Vogel is an obstetrician, and there’s a sick contrast between the wall of photographs of babies he’s delivered and the stack of photographs of the children he tortured.
A film like this must rely not just on pacing, but on performances, which is where “The Debt” really shines. Mirren is mesmerizing on screen; Wilkinson is another pro who creates characters out of whole cloth. More impressive, perhaps, are the actors who play them when young. Chastain should turn out to be one of the best actresses of her generation. It’s not clear on screen whether she’s channeling Mirren or Mirren’s channeling her.
