An Unfinished Bill

Mid-1960s young Mossad agents Rachel (Jessica Chastain), Stephan (Marton Csokas) and David (Sam Worthington) are tasked with smuggling Nazi war criminal Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen) out of East Berlin so he can be tried. The mission goes differently than planned and Vogel is shot while trying to escape. The three agents nevertheless received a euphoric reception in Israel and have been hailed as heroes ever since. Thirty years later, when Rachel's daughter writes a book about her mother's (Helen Mirren) supposed exploits, she, Stephan (Tom Wilkinson) and David (Ciarán Hinds) are caught up in a secret from their past - the secret that the mission went very differently than the public believes. And so now they must finally settle a score that is still unresolved.

Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Decision director Matthew Vaughn, as producer and co-writer, has delivered a gripping adaptation of the Israeli thriller Ha Hov with An Unfinished Bill, which Oscar-winner John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) has brought to the screen with a squad of great actors. In addition to a Helen Mirren who acts with aplomb as always, it is especially Jesper Christensen (A Family) who delivers an extremely strong and disturbing performance as ice-cold Nazi doctor Dieter Vogel. The scenes in which he tries to emotionally influence young Rachel (convincingly played by Tree of Life actress Jessica Chastain) into making a mistake are undoubtedly some of the film's strongest moments.

But the dynamic between the three agents is also a very interesting and engaging aspect of the story. And so then, despite a few minor lengths, it is very exciting to watch them on their mission in East Berlin. Unfortunately, John Madden only manages to keep up this intensity for the entire running time to a limited extent. One reason for this is that the three main characters remain strangely superficial, despite the strong acting of all six actors who portray them. It's very difficult to form an emotional attachment to them, which is especially evident in the fact that the implied love triangle between Rachel, Stephan and David somehow gets completely lost and becomes arguably the most inconsequential part of the story.

On the other hand, however, it's also because Madden somehow doesn't quite succeed in building a bridge between the events of 1965 and 1997. Even though there's only one story being told here, the whole thing feels oddly inconsistent and doesn't create a flowing overall picture. What could have been a great spy thriller has therefore only become a very good and largely suspenseful drama, which is primarily carried by its strong actors and a cleverly constructed plot, but suffers from its somewhat labored staging. Therefore, even if An Open Bill falls short of its potential, friends of high-quality spy thrillers can definitely be recommended to go to the cinema. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp