Review #43: The Debt

Release Date: August 31st, 2011
Writer: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, and Peter Straughan
Director: John Madden

Logline: In 1965, three Mossad agents cross into East Berlin to apprehend a notorious Nazi war criminal. Thirty years later, the secrets the agents share come back to haunt them. (IMDb)
Thriller, 113 minutes
Bechdel Test: Passes all 3 tests

Review
I love a good spy movie. There aren't nearly enough of them. Give me Jason Bourne over Captain America any day.

The Debt is an American/British remake of an Israeli film. The adaptation was written by the action film duo of Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class, Kickass) and spy film writer Peter Straughn (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.) The director John Madden has a few Oscar films under his belt, including Shakespeare in Love.

The reason I'm outlining all that information is to explain why I has such high hopes before I watched this film. When you bring together a stellar list of experienced hit-makers, you do so expecting a hit. Maybe The Debt was a success; it made it's budget back, and put Dame Helen Mirren on the poster for an action film. I'm not sure it lived up to all of my many expectations.

Sold as a tangled web of deception around a CIA operation that happened during the Cold War, The Debt has a narrative that shows what happened in the 1960's and the fallout many years later. Agent Rachel Singer, portrayed as Jessica Chastain in the 1960's and as Helen Mirren in the 1990's, was part of a three man operation to capture and bring to justice a Nazi war criminal.

Jessica Chastain and Sam Worthington in The Debt

The first half of the movie brings the audience on several spy missions that are beautifully shot and executed. There is a nail biting sequence during which the CIA operatives pose as ambulance drivers to extract their target, with the real ambulance on the way, only moments behind. Many action movies rely on technology to keep a sequence interesting, or the counting clock of a man set to watch out for the team. John Madden plays into the fear of the unknown in The Debt, reminding the audience that there is no fall back, that time is ticking and there is no way of knowing if or when the agents will be found out.

The weakness of the film, is of course the very narrative structure by which it is framed. The characters have been introduced as old men and women, so there is a bit lost in watching their younger selves in dangerous situations. We know they make it out alive. Ironically, I found the second half of the film, taking place 30 years later, to be the slowest part. While the characters are more interesting and complex, with secrets to cover up and uncertain allegiances, the action significantly drops off.

Helen Mirren in The Debt

I'm not sure I can place The Debt in the list of spy movies I really love. While there are some great scene of tense action, and gut wrenching suspense, the story itself falls off the map. With characters who swap actors, and motives that become muddled, I didn't get suspense all the way though the film.

Portrayal of Women: Before going into the movie I had a fleeting thought "how nice that they put a woman in the spy movie," for now. While she appeared to portray an important character in the trailers, I had a suspicion that her role would be undercut by some stereotypical trope.

I'm pleased to say Rachel Singer's character wasn't used as a love interest or reward, and she wasn't incompetent. She wasn't a cold, manipulative villainess either. At no point was she heroically saved by a man. Rachel Singer fought her own fights, and was the most valuable part of the CIA's mission. Her character was used for her vulnerability, and perhaps earned sympathy for being considered weaker, but I don't think that detracts from her capabilities as a woman. Her character captivated the audience, and ultimately controlled the story.

Sisterhood Moment: Rachel Singer recaps the events of the past through the book her daughter wrote about her. What a fantastic little tag to a movie about spy's, deception, and lies. Rachel Singer might be a lot of unsavory things, but she's also a mother and a hero to her child.

Rating: 3 Jason Bournes out of 5 franchises

IMDb - The Debt (6.9)
Wikipedia - The Debt
Rotten Tomatoes - The Debt (77%)