I have
long said that the only time I can stand Ben Affleck in a film is when he
personally directs it. Or he has a very large hand in the films creation. Or if
he dies within the first twenty minutes (Thank you Smokin’ Aces). Because Ben Affleck, is a great director. Not just
good, not just talented, but great. Gone
Baby Gone could have been a fluke. The
Town meant that there had to be another reason besides a fluke. And now Argo confirms it, Affleck knows what he
is doing.
Set
amidst the political turmoil of late 70s and early 80s Iran, Argo is the story of six American
embassy employees who were rescued through a hilariously sitcom like plan and
international cooperation. If you remember your history correctly, you will
remember that under the Carter administration the U.S. Embassy in Iran was
taken over by a very anti-U.S. Iranians. About 40 or so Americans were held
captive for over a year in Iran. What most people don’t know is that six of
them escaped before the place was overrun and took shelter at the Canadian
Ambassador’s home.
Enter CIA
agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck). A specialist in exfiltration, Mendez was
assigned the responsibility of getting them out. After running through plan
after plan that just didn’t seem to work Mendez got a crazy idea: pretend the
Americans were a Canadian film crew working on a sci-fi film that they wanted
to film a part of in Tehran. Mendez flies into Iran pretending to be Canadian,
and gets the Americans to do the same so that they can all fly out together.
And it’s
all a true story! Mostly. But the story that we have, however Hollywoodized is
wonderful. The opening scenes of the movie, the gathering crowd outside the
embassy, the horrified employees inside quipping, “it looks bigger today,” are
so tense, everyone is waiting for the pin drop. And drop it does when the protesters finally decide to climb the wall.
Tense
is the name of the game. The opening scenes, the walk and drive through crowded
squares of angry Iranians and the final harrowing airport scene where one
slipup of identity results in probable death for all involved.
The
superb acting by all involved, especially Bryan Cranston, Ben Affleck, John
Goodman, and Alan Arkin, coupled with both fantastic writing and pacing
provides for a very entertaining film that does almost nothing wrong.
There
are a couple of things I noticed. One, is the Iranian girl who looks like she
might betray the Americans but instead risks her life for them. When she
crosses the border to Iraq, we see nothing more of her. She isn’t explained in
the credits which leads me to believe she was an entirely fabricated character
for an interesting plot point.
And
that is a real detriment throughout. There’s a nagging thought that reappears, “how
much of this is real?” And for me, after doing some quick wikipediaing, enough
of it is to disappoint me.
But the
spirit of the film is still all there. The tension is through the roof and the
sharp writing is both entertaining and dramatic. I’m sad I didn’t see it
sooner.
4 out of 4 stars
-Christopher O'Connell
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