What I Saw: The Debt
The Debt is part spy thriller and part philosophical reflection on the creation of truth and history. It is a remake of the 2007 Israeli film Ha-Hov, which I unfortunately have not seen.
Jessica Chastain and Helen Mirren play a single character, separated by 30 years time. Chastain gets the majority of screen time, and gives a fantastic performance showing the unique dangers and struggles facing a young female agent, while Mirren’s role wonderfully showcases the regrets and doubts that accompany the passage of time. Together, they make a strong case that Hollywood should cast more women in thoughtful action thrillers like this.
And while his role is much less sympathetic, Jesper Christensen gives a haunting and layered performance as the Nazi villain that our protagonists have been sent to capture.
But my favorite thing about the movie was the reaction that it instilled in the audience. You see, it just so happened that I saw this movie in a theater filled with talkers. You know, those annoying people who feel the need to explain what is happening as the movie is playing. Only this time the movie beat them. I will not be giving away any spoilers in this review, but I will say that just as three or four audience members felt the need to state what should have been painfully obvious to anyone paying the slightest attention, the movie took an epistemological turn that shut them up. And after that I didn’t hear from them again for the rest of the film. For this alone, I am thankful.
And this audience reaction is not simply a coincidence. Indeed, it is precisely in its unexpected moments that this film moves beyond being simply another summer spy thriller. It provides opportunities for us to step back and ask deeper questions about our lives, ranging from the special functions that the female characters had to play on the mission, to the role of gender in national mythologies and the search for truth.
Oscar Chances:
At first I was surprised to look through my previously published lists and not find The Debt listed on any of them. I’d heard about the movie for months, and with such a stellar cast, I would have thought that it would have appeared somewhere. But while this film was incredibly enjoyable, and one that I highly recommend, it has several things going against it as an Oscar vehicle, including genre bias, an August release date, and the fact that it is a remake of another film. So while I still don’t anticipate that it will actually receive any nominations, you may find it appearing on my future long lists in a few categories:
Lead Actress: Jessica Chastain
Supporting Actress: Helen Mirren
Supporting Actor: Jesper Christensen
Score: Thomas Newman
Adapted Screenplay: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan
Sound Editing
Sound Mixing
My Lamb Score: 4 out of 5 Lambs
What is a lamb score? Click HERE to learn more.
Want to read more of my reviews? Click HERE.
And for those who have an aversion to remakes, I leave you with a few shots from the original Ha-Hov:
The Debt is part spy thriller and part philosophical reflection on the creation of truth and history. It is a remake of the 2007 Israeli film Ha-Hov, which I unfortunately have not seen.
Jessica Chastain and Helen Mirren play a single character, separated by 30 years time. Chastain gets the majority of screen time, and gives a fantastic performance showing the unique dangers and struggles facing a young female agent, while Mirren’s role wonderfully showcases the regrets and doubts that accompany the passage of time. Together, they make a strong case that Hollywood should cast more women in thoughtful action thrillers like this.
And while his role is much less sympathetic, Jesper Christensen gives a haunting and layered performance as the Nazi villain that our protagonists have been sent to capture.
But my favorite thing about the movie was the reaction that it instilled in the audience. You see, it just so happened that I saw this movie in a theater filled with talkers. You know, those annoying people who feel the need to explain what is happening as the movie is playing. Only this time the movie beat them. I will not be giving away any spoilers in this review, but I will say that just as three or four audience members felt the need to state what should have been painfully obvious to anyone paying the slightest attention, the movie took an epistemological turn that shut them up. And after that I didn’t hear from them again for the rest of the film. For this alone, I am thankful.
And this audience reaction is not simply a coincidence. Indeed, it is precisely in its unexpected moments that this film moves beyond being simply another summer spy thriller. It provides opportunities for us to step back and ask deeper questions about our lives, ranging from the special functions that the female characters had to play on the mission, to the role of gender in national mythologies and the search for truth.
Oscar Chances:
At first I was surprised to look through my previously published lists and not find The Debt listed on any of them. I’d heard about the movie for months, and with such a stellar cast, I would have thought that it would have appeared somewhere. But while this film was incredibly enjoyable, and one that I highly recommend, it has several things going against it as an Oscar vehicle, including genre bias, an August release date, and the fact that it is a remake of another film. So while I still don’t anticipate that it will actually receive any nominations, you may find it appearing on my future long lists in a few categories:
Lead Actress: Jessica Chastain
Supporting Actress: Helen Mirren
Supporting Actor: Jesper Christensen
Score: Thomas Newman
Adapted Screenplay: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan
Sound Editing
Sound Mixing
My Lamb Score: 4 out of 5 Lambs
What is a lamb score? Click HERE to learn more.
Want to read more of my reviews? Click HERE.
And for those who have an aversion to remakes, I leave you with a few shots from the original Ha-Hov:
