Argo

So let’s go back to 2003 shall we? After a promising start, Ben Affleck’s career had been gradually sinking film by film until he hit the nadir with that year’s triple whammy of Daredevil, Gigli and Paycheck. Next up was Surviving Christmas and after that the odds of Affleck’s number surviving on most producers speed dial were as slim as that films plot. If you had then told anyone that a few years later he would be looked upon as one of America’s most promising and exciting young film makers on the block you would have been laughed out of your local Cineplex. Yet, here we are, with Affleck’s third film calling the shots following the impressive debut and sophomore efforts of Gone Baby Gone and The Town. This time Affleck has moved into a non-fiction (well, still fiction, see below) production telling the story behind the 1980 secret operation between the CIA and the Canadian Government to extract a number of American diplomatic employees from within the bowels of revolutionary Iran. Affleck sensibly begins the film with a, though not entirely accurate (again, see below), prologue, which is sort of an Iranian history for dummies to help set the scene for the audience. Before long the aforementioned diplomats are holed up in the Canadian Ambassador’s house whilst CIA operative Tony Mendez (Affleck himself) plots their escape via the bizarre method of himself and the diplomats pretending they are a Canadian film crew scouting for locations in Iran for their latest sci-fi film, “Argo” (that name itself leading to a nice running gag throughout the film). Before talk of Affleck the director, Affleck the actor plays his role with a suitably laid back air which permeates a lot of the running time, ably supported by Alan Arkin playing a Hollywood producer “producing” the faux film and Bryan Cranston great as Mendez’s exasperated handler back in Langley. The main criticism of the film appears to have been the embellishment of many facts and scenes for dramatic effect…..well, duh! Welcome to Hollywood! After doing some further reading following the film, I can’t deny the differences between the reality of what happened and what is portrayed in the film, but wasn’t it ever thus? The Brits take a kicking (surprise), the poor New Zealanders (leave em’ alone!) get bad-mouthed and despite being a joint effort between Canada and the Old Glory wavers it still comes across as the US saving the day. To be fair to Affleck he has explained his reasons for this revisionist view of what happened and you can either take it or leave it. Where Affleck does falter is in the tone of the piece. In trying to keep a light touch, the real seriousness of the situation never really hits home. Despite some tense scenes (the ending of the film when the bid for freedom is made is a tour de force of nail biting tension) you just never get a constant feeling of fear or terror (probably not helped by lots of scenes of the staff smoking, getting pissed and dancing to records whilst in “hiding”). On that note the employees of the embassy (the main face amongst them arguably being Scoot McNairy, himself buried under comedy glasses and moustache) just come across as stereotypes of some sort (i.e. the quiet one, the drunk one, et al) rather than becoming more rounded characters. Though this is hardly surprising as the script mainly focuses on the setting up of the background to the fake film with wry political commentary on the chain of bureaucracy that exists in the CIA when it comes to decision making. What can’t be denied though is that this is an enjoyable night at the cinema. In addition, Affleck’s knowledge and application of being the chief of production shines through, an example here being his decision to cut the film frames in half and then blowing up the images in order to give the impression of the late 1970’s. To sum up? Fiction based on fact, but fun.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Being the baseball nut that Benny is, I’m sure he’ll appreciate being 3 for 3 in respect of being a director. He’s hinting at it, so let’s hope for a full-blown classic next time out. Rating: 7/10.