Anticipation 2010

A taut espionage thriller by John Madden. It promises political intrigue and harrowing action. There are equal parts thriller, mystery, and human drama. Told mainly in flashbacks, the plot jumps back and forth from the 1960s to the 1990s. In the 1960s, a trio of Mossad agents (played by Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington and Marton Csokas) are sent to divided Berlin to find a Nazi war criminal (Jesper Christensen) and bring him back to Israel for trial. In the '90s scenes, the characters (now played by Helen Mirren, Ciara¡n Hinds and Tom Wilkinson) are dealing with the aftermath and the possible exposure of secrets from 30 years before. The movie's focal character is Rachel, the lone female in the trio of agents. Both women render believable and gripping portrayals of a complicated woman however Mirren was almost outshone by Jessica Chastain. She is a newcomer to watch, her stars shine in three very different roles, in Tree of Life,The Help and now The Debt. My gripe: I felt that Sam Worthington was sorely miscasted here.

"She kept the nest that hatched the eggs."

Director Robert Redford's latest project makes for a fine piece of American history. His casts included a host of top-notch thespians. This covers the period of Abraham Lincoln's assassination and the events and trials that came as a result of all that and it is also based on the true story of Mary Surratt. She is the woman who ran the boarding house at which John Wilkes Booth and his confederates hatched the plan to kill Lincoln and went down in history as the first woman ever executed by the United States federal government. Playing the condemned woman, Robin Wright shines among the top heavy male cast. James McAvoy perfect in every role, plays legal eagle Frederick Aiken, an idealistic young war hero who reluctantly defends Surratt in the beginning but as the film progresses, he begins to think that not only could she be innocent but, she is being denied a fair trial. Risking his own social and professional standing to defend a woman America considered a traitor. Though operating on a modest budget, a lot of care and thought has gone into recreating the era of the trial. The film's attention to detail, from costumes and props, to historic structures and scenery, is startling to behold. This beautifully rendered film is worth seeing on many levels.

The drama focuses on the effects of the aftermath as we follow parents' reactions to the tragedy. Usually, similar genres/storyline throws the spotlight onto the parents of the victims however this one concentrates on the parents of the shooter in which very few filmmakers dare to explore. They not only lose their child to the massacre but also learnt that their son was the madman behind the slaughter. Sheen and Bello gave performances that are hard to fault. It is their talents that anchored the film, they delivered something fearless, unconventional and utterly memorable.
The film purposefully avoids addressing some issues, certain viewers may feel perplexed and I too, wanted the director to shed light on the 'why' aspect of the tragedy, who is to blame and what would ever bring a person to take on such horrific action? It is haunting, deeply disturbing and brutally honest. It is a truthful depiction of two people being plunged into a deep tunnel of despair by possibly the most unimaginable news any parent could hear. Extremely bleak and definitely not a summer fare but nevertheless worth taking the time to appreciate this.