Being released on August 31st, The Debt came in just under the wire as the last film of the 2011 Summer Movie Season, and by all appearances, it looked like this thriller was going to be surprisingly strong final entry. A number of elements present in this film caught my attention, the first and foremost being the strong cast, which included silver screen veteran Helen Mirren and rising stars Sam Worthington and Jessica Chastain. Worthington has been gaining popularity since his memorable turn as Jake Sully in Avatar, and Chastain already charmed audiences as a naïve housewife in this summer’s surprise critical and commercial success, The Help. Add in the fact that the plot involved the always-volatile Holocaust subject matter and that the film first premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and it was virtually guaranteed that The Debt would be of undoubtedly high quality. Promising genuine thrills and engaging mystery in a unique manner that has been missing from theaters for quite some time, I found myself truly excited for The Debt.
I held off my concluding summary of the past few months in order to make sure that I didn’t miss any surprises that The Debt might offer, and it’s a good thing I did, because this last-minute thriller is an easy contender for best film of the 2011 Summer Movie Season. Intense, riveting, and fully-engrossing, The Debt grabs your attention and does not let go as it guides you through an undeniably emotional history that is as shocking as it is entertaining. The surprisingly riveting story is anchoring by the powerhouse performances delivered by Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain as they portray the same character at different points in history. With the frequent jumps in narrative time and the slow start, The Debt can be a little hard to follow at certain points, but the strong characters always do their best to keep the viewer on track. Plain and simple, whether you are a fan of historical drama or not, I guarantee that you will love this newest thriller.
For more information, please read the full review.
Overall Recommendation: Very High
