This action drama begins in 1997 with highly touted former Mossad agent Rachel (Helen Mirren) at a party to celebrate the release of her daughter’s book based on events that involved Rachel and her fellow former agents Stefan (Tom Wilkinson) and David (Ciaran Hinds). All seems well until the past comes back to revisit them.

The action moves back and forth between1997 and 1965 and the dangerous mission in East Berlin the trio undertook to track down and kidnap a Nazi war criminal, Dieter Vogel (played with a combination of evil charm and chilling menace by Jesper Christensen).

Young Rachel (Jessica Chastain), Stefan (Marton Csokas) and David (Sam Worthington) must accomplish a dangerous mission behind the Iron Curtain. They must deal with the authorities, the cunning Vogel and each other. The question the film poses to the viewer is: did the team succeed?

Tension and suspense are deftly built and sustained as the plot continues across the two different time periods. This is a film with a strong subject matter, frenetic and desperate action sequences and is at times highly unsettling and claustrophobic.

See, this is not just your standard thriller with stylish flashbacks. This also explores themes of love, fear, guilt and redemption in a story that unfolds over the course of thirty two years.

Ambitious and hard hitting ‘The Debt’ gripped me from beginning to end and despite its gritty feel and tough subject matter it managed to move at a good pace and asked pertinent questions. You wonder what you would do in the situations the characters in the film find themselves in which is a strong selling point.

Too often these days film and television takes the moral high ground where a pseudo reality exists where everything is between good and evil and choices are black and white. Well, this film does not patronise the viewer and offers challenging and believable action and dilemmas.

It’s not the best thriller I have ever seen, but it succeeds on its own merits thanks to its strong story, capable cast and assured direction.