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The Debt

Play trailer Poster for The Debt R Released Aug 31, 2011 2h 0m Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
77% Tomatometer 182 Reviews 66% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In 1965, young Mossad agent Rachel Singer (Jessica Chastain) and two comrades (Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas) are involved in a secret mission to capture a Nazi war criminal known as the Surgeon of Birkenau (Jesper Christensen). The mission ends with the man's death on the streets of East Berlin. Thirty years later, a man claiming to be the doctor has appeared, and Rachel (Helen Mirren), haunted by memories of past events, must return to Eastern Europe to uncover the truth.
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The Debt

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Critics Consensus

Its time-shifting narrative creates distracting casting problems, but ultimately, The Debt is a smart, well-acted entry in a genre that could use more like it.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Spectator It never fully compels or meshes as the emotionally driven, multilayered, grown-up thriller it yearns to be. Aug 31, 2018 Full Review Laura Kern Film Comment Magazine The film delivers both as a love story and as an old-fashioned espionage thriller that no amount of implausibility can spoil. Oct 9, 2011 Full Review Kate Stables Sight & Sound The result is a sturdy, often suspenseful piece, but one that delivers less than it promises. Oct 4, 2011 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Given the cast, setting, and heavy themes involved, one could hardly be blamed for expecting more. Rated: 2.5/4 Mar 9, 2023 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Not just anybody can convincingly play the great Helen Mirren as a young woman, but Jessica Chastain pulls it off without breaking stride. Rated: 3/4 Dec 28, 2021 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com Mirren looks and feels like a woman who has been carrying around the weight of her soul for 30 years. Rated: 3.0/4.0 Sep 5, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
Alain E An excellent movie about facing the consequences of the Holocaust. Very well constructed, so that the shifts in time back and forth are immediately understood and create no confusion. It is based on a previous Israeli film that I plan to seek out. It handles successfully many important issues. How you treat an essentially political prisoner guilty of horrendous crimes. What type of interactions happen among operatives in high stress situations. How you balance the need to be truthful with political expediency. I found that from the beginning to the end the movie made solid choices and avoided cheap sentimentality or political bias. Available free on YouTube with brief but very LOUD ads. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/16/24 Full Review Anthony W Undervalued performance by Mirren. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/05/24 Full Review Igor S I didn't expect much from this movie but it ended up being a solid one. Has a bit of a depression mood to it but given the subject matter, it's understandable. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/24 Full Review Dani G Just OK. What you could expect from a movie like this, but well made Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/12/23 Full Review Megan e Good performances overshadowed by distracting timeline transitions and dreariness. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/26/23 Full Review Daniel B Lo que hace interesante a esta película está en cómo profundiza una historia que a primera vista es muy simplista y aburrida, si, los guionistas construyeron esta historia para crear un efectivo giro de trama que si se logra; matica tanto la historia principal cómo los mismos flashbacks. La trama pasa de ser poco explicita a tener una gran carga narrativa en secuencias simples que parecían sin importancia. Pero, aun así, la trama es sencilla, aunque con esta construcción la narrativa logra ser atrapante y por momentos estresante. La trama se estructura en una recopilación de sucesos en los que juegan con la perspectiva del espectador. En donde a medida que se desarrolla la trama vamos entendiendo más el conflicto interno de cada personaje y cómo afrontan el "ocultar la verdad", mientras Stephan lo oculta porque gracias a la historia del "héroe de guerra" puede tener un puesto respetado, Rachel lo afronta con la excusa de que su hija podría salir perjudicada y David que es el no supo o quiso mantener el secreto, viviendo en negación todo el tiempo; intercalando con el Conflicto principal en el cómo cada uno reacciona cuando se afrontan ante la inminente verdad, es un paralelismo que sirve para cimentar las bases de los personajes, y el cómo cada uno quiere vivir la vida desde su propio POV que es totalmente diferente al de los otros 2, y cómo cada uno de cierta manera "muere" con el secreto, ya sea física o internamente. El personaje que se roba la película es Dieter Vogel, la actuación de Jesper Christensen es tan meticulosa, en la que con pocas palabras es tan preciso en su intento por desequilibrar mentalmente al grupo. Él es posiblemente lo que salva a una historia poca concisa en su estructura, donde si, es interesante en la forma de presenta los hechos, pero no deja de ser unidimensional en su intento por crear suspenso. El montaje que John Madden presenta es visualmente aceptable, aunque no acabe por ser espectacular, no hay secuencias visualmente deslumbrantes, en dónde se puede perder el cuidado diseño de producción que la película presenta en los flashbacks de los 60's. Dónde la trama si se lleva por la ruta que este director planteo desde el principio. Jessica Chastain y Jesper Christensen son lo mejor de la película, Jessica con un personaje tímido e inseguro, pero con un deseo internamente muy escondido de venganza; contrastando con la figura imponente de Jesper que logra con su presencia anteponerse en cuadro con cualquier personaje, ya sea enfocado en primerísimo plano o desde el difuminado fondo. The Debt en su desarrollo pasa de tener una presentación superficial a tener una gran carga introspectiva del mundo que presenta esta historia, dónde gracias a su presentación desordenada la película a medida que más se desarrolla se vuelve más interesante, dónde los "héroes" pasan de ser una figura patriótica a ser conscientemente simples cobardes. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/19/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Debt

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1965, young Mossad agent Rachel Singer (Jessica Chastain) and two comrades (Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas) are involved in a secret mission to capture a Nazi war criminal known as the Surgeon of Birkenau (Jesper Christensen). The mission ends with the man's death on the streets of East Berlin. Thirty years later, a man claiming to be the doctor has appeared, and Rachel (Helen Mirren), haunted by memories of past events, must return to Eastern Europe to uncover the truth.
Director
John Madden
Producer
Eduardo Rossoff, Kris Thykier, Matthew Vaughn, Eitan Evan
Screenwriter
Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Peter Straughan
Distributor
Focus Features
Production Co
Miramax
Rating
R (Some Violence|Language)
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 31, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$31.1M
Runtime
2h 0m
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