The espionage thriller The Debt will be distributed for Miramax by Focus Features and Universal Pictures International (UPI). Focus will release The Debt in the U.S. nationwide on Wednesday, August 31st, and UPI will release the film internationally.
Directed by Academy Award nominee John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), The Debt stars Academy Award winner Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans), Jessica Chastain (soon to be seen in The Tree of Life), Marton Csokas (Universal’s upcoming Dream House), Jesper Christensen (Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace), Ciarán Hinds (Focus’ Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day), and two-time Academy Award nominee Tom Wilkinson. The screenplay, by Matthew Vaughn & Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan, is adapted from the 2007 Israeli film Ha-Hov. The producers of The Debt are Mr. Vaughn and Kris Thykier through Marv Films, Eitan Evan, and Eduardo Rossof; Tarquin Pack is the film’s executive producer.
The story begins in 1997, as shocking news reaches retired Mossad secret agents Rachel (played by Ms. Mirren) and Stefan (Mr. Wilkinson) about their former colleague David (Mr. Hinds). All three have been venerated for decades by their country because of the mission that they undertook back in 1966, when the trio (portrayed, respectively, by Ms. Chastain, Mr. Csokas, and Mr. Worthington) tracked down Nazi war criminal Vogel (Mr. Christensen) in East Berlin . At great risk, and at considerable personal cost, the team’s mission was accomplished – or was it? The suspense builds in and across two different time periods, with startling action and surprising revelations.