The Debt

The Debt

Do you love suspense, terror and great acting? I hesitated to see the film because I had seen so many previews and I was afraid that the suspense and the story would be upsetting. The music added to the pace and I sat on the edge of my seat throughout the total film. I was certainly not able to predict the ending. In the last half hour I was shocked and surprised by the strange twist of events.
At the beginning of the film we meet three Mossad (Israeli) agents who had been sent into East Berlin to track down a Nazi war criminal. He was a doctor accused of horrific actions against Jews during the war. It was very difficult to listen to the doctor describing his hatred for Jews and telling about the disgusting torture.
Jessica Chastain plays the young Rebecca. She is one of the agents and is pretending to be married to one of the other agents. .All three live in a run down apartment that leaks and has bugs. I did enjoy watching the interpersonal communication amongst the three.
Rachel meets up with the infamous doctor who is now an obstetrician. She pretends she is having difficulty getting pregnant. The doctor was kind, caring and sensitive. It was horrifying to watch her going through tests and examinations in order to get to the ‘monster’ doctor. In the middle of a pelvic examination she jumps up and attacks him. The three agents keep the doctor in their apartment and make a plan to get him back to Israel.
It was difficult watching all the events because of the suspense and the horror. The doctor gets away and the agents tell a lie that he had been killed. They couldn’t stand to admit their failure.
In later years we meet the three agents. Helen Mirren plays the part of the adult Rachael. Her daughter has written a book about her mother’s courageous and honorable actions in killing the doctor. For years the three agents kept it a secret that he was not killed.
Each agent dealt with the secret in his/her way. It weighed heavy on all of them.
The last part of the story is so gripping. The acting throughout will keep you in suspense. Jessica Chastain is amazing in her role as the young Rachael. Helen Mirren is one of the great actors of our time. She is superb in her role of the older Rachael.
John Madden is the director. He has created many Oscar awarded films in the past. I sense another one in this film.