Argo is Ben Affleck's third directorial effort, and further
proves his reputation as one of Hollywood's greatest assets. His films are consistently and refreshingly
mature (particularly the astonishing Gone Baby Gone) and this is no exception. While they have previous focused mostly on blue-collar crime in Boston (Affleck's home turf), Argo is a political thriller of sorts, based on the true story of the joint
CIA-Canadian operation to extract six diplomatic fugitives out of an
increasingly unstable revolutionary Iran.
The year is 1980, and Iran's political situation is
beautifully illustrated with an animated opening sequence. The movie then
launches into a dramatization of the storming of the U.S. embassy in Tehran on
November 4, 1979. It's a grippingly tense scene, as we see the diplomatic
figures within the embassy awaiting the inevitable
attack from the angry mob outside. Affleck's attention to detail is scrupulous, and a sequence during the
credits compares the similarities between photographs of the event and frames
of the movie (with startling alikeness). The fact that the movie
remains fact-based throughout instead of resorting to inventing drama from the
proceedings is a testament to Affleck's ability to tell a story, as well as
retaining the audience's engagement (despite their knowledge of the outcome).
And the film is very tense indeed. Six hostages escape the embassy and take
refuge in the Canadian ambassador's house. From this, the U.S. – or rather the CIA – must now find a method to
extract these valuable assets. Enter Ben
Affleck as CIA specialist Tony Mendez. He proposes the idea of a fake scouting
mission for a movie, assigning various roles of production to the hostages, to
bring them home. An idea so crazy, it may
just work.
Mendez meets with John Chambers (John Goodman), a Hollywood
make-up artist, and producer Lester Siegel (the always fantastic Alan Arkin) to
go about creating their fake movie – a Star Wars rip-off called 'Argo'. The film's first hour or so is a light-hearted parody of Hollywood in the 1980s, as
the team try and make their movie appear convincing to investors and the press. But when Mendez arrives in Iran to carry out
the plan, the film becomes much more tense and thrilling. Iran is justifiably painted as a very
dangerous place to be, and their plan looks susceptible to falling apart at any
moment; the complications that arise continue to raise the stakes as the film progresses, making its climax all the more exciting.
It should be said that the picture emphasises the role of the Americans in the proceedings - the role of the Canadians in the rescue efforts is unfairly minimised, as well as the role of the British and New Zealand embassies in harbouring the fugitives - although one suspects this was not due to political reasons nor historical misreading of the events, but rather to engage the American audience in the narrative and to engineer a protagonist the audience could support. It's disappointing, but not unexpected, and the aspect of diplomatic cooperation between governments remains intact.
It should be said that the picture emphasises the role of the Americans in the proceedings - the role of the Canadians in the rescue efforts is unfairly minimised, as well as the role of the British and New Zealand embassies in harbouring the fugitives - although one suspects this was not due to political reasons nor historical misreading of the events, but rather to engage the American audience in the narrative and to engineer a protagonist the audience could support. It's disappointing, but not unexpected, and the aspect of diplomatic cooperation between governments remains intact.
Ultimately, Argo's strengths lie within its performances, with Affleck carrying
the film with a strong, believable performance. Goodman and Arkin are both great in
supporting roles, but special mention has to go to Bryan Cranston as Affleck's superior, who's presence is always greatly appreciated. Yet Argo's trump card is, without doubt, its
director. Few possess the skill to turn
a fact-based story without shootouts or car chases into a highly-strung,
expertly crafted, Oscar-worthy thriller. I can hardly wait to see what Affleck does next.
★★★★
