Wednesday, September 7, 2011

"The Debt" [B+]

A good suspense story makes you think you know what's going on, but then wonder if you're right, and keep you guessing about what's going to happen next. "The Debt" is a good suspense story. It has an interesting structure because it actually begins at the end, twice. Then it goes back to fill in the history, and the details, and then... telling more would be a spoiler.

The writing, acting, and directing are all first rate, up to a point. That point is the ending, which doesn't quite ring true to the rest of the film. Other than that, I suspect there will be some award nominations coming for this work.

(The two beginning-at-the-ends are the 1997 framing story and the 1965 post-mission arrival of the team in Israel, both of which give away what happened to the spy team, but not what happened on the mission.)

The Debt (IMDb)

1 comment:

  1. Good Review! Sports an intriguing premise and uniformly strong performances, but its second act is mediocre and its third act even worse, and it can't help but pale in comparison to Munich. Check out mine when you get your chance!

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