Argo (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Argo', a based-on-a-true-story political thriller directed by & starring Ben Affleck, begins with a prologue which chronicles the CIA's support of the Shah of Iran, who was overthrown/exiled to the U.S. during the Iranian revolution in 1979. The power in Iran shifted to the Ayatollah Khomeini, & his fundamentalist supporters. The opening scenes depict the violent anti-American demonstrations demanding that the Shah be returned to Iran to face trial. The U.S. embassy is surrounded by a hostile crowd that storms the building. And inside, the frantic & terrified staff tries to destroy all their files & classified information.
Amid this chaos, 6 Americans manage to escape & find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador (Victor Garber) where they remain in secret awaiting rescue. If discovered, they face execution by Iranian militants who have also taken other hostages from the U.S. embassy. The Canadian government, concerned about the safety of their ambassador, is also applying pressure. And so, Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston) of the CIA calls agent Tony Mendez (Affleck) to come up with an audacious plan to rescue the 6 Americans. The plan: have them pose as a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a cheesy sci-fi movie called 'Argo'.
With the help of Hollywood make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) & cranky producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), Tony establishes a fake production company, a cover story, & sets the sci-fi plan into action. With any luck, the plan is for the trapped Americans to pass as Canadian, get through security at the airport, & board a Swiss Air flight to freedom. But what seems straightforward on paper rarely works that way in practice; as our protagonists soon find out.
Knowing that many of the film's elements are taken straight from actual events elevates the importance of what the movie wants to say about the "us versus them" mentality that dominates politics, both then & now. The screenplay takes the basic true events & tweaks them to be more cinematic {and why not? This is a Hollywood movie, after all}. In particular, the suspense inherent in the final 30 min. is ratcheted up by using instances of cross-cutting to show how things fall into place in the nick of time. But guess what ... even though we may know the outcome before the movie starts, Affleck does a great job making us forget the outcome and/or not care that we already know the outcome. He gets our adrenaline pumping. And those climactic minutes bristle with tension.
Affleck does a very good job with the emotional escape sequence & conveys the media coverage of the Iran hostage crisis extremely well. I like that he didn't have to resort to phony shootouts, fights, or pyrotechnics to hold his audience along the way. All the tension/suspense derives from the implication of what could happen if the hostages are caught. Their sense of danger is always palpable. Affleck breaks said tension by occasionally cutting back to the Hollywood scenes where Chambers & Siegel provide humor (though their final scene is used to escalate the stakes during the climax).
From a production standpoint, 'Argo' impresses there, too. Every scene: crisp & concise. Editor William Goldenberg blends movie footage with archival footage that puts the likes of Jimmy Carter, the Shah, the Ayatollah, Mike Wallace, Ted Koppel & Walter Cronkite into the story; all adding further verisimilitude to what we're watching. Concerning art direction, the recreation of Tehran circa 1979 is great. And Alexandre Desplat's moody musical score makes an impact, as well.
Overall, 'Argo' tells a (mostly) compelling story that keeps us viewers on the edge of our seats. Ben Affleck is a better director than actor; and it shows with this film. Now, the script is excellent, but not perfect. i.e., there are scenes in the middle of the movie where certain characters make you 'think' they're saying something more clever/important than they actually are. I also feel that there are a few too many instances where we're seeing the hostages looking worried. I could have stood for some more characterization with the hostages (rather than looking at them be worried). But I digress. 'Argo' is a very good movie. Smart. Enjoyable. I wanted to leap out of my seat with excitement a few times. And there's nothing like a movie that builds & ends on its strongest note.
Amid this chaos, 6 Americans manage to escape & find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador (Victor Garber) where they remain in secret awaiting rescue. If discovered, they face execution by Iranian militants who have also taken other hostages from the U.S. embassy. The Canadian government, concerned about the safety of their ambassador, is also applying pressure. And so, Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston) of the CIA calls agent Tony Mendez (Affleck) to come up with an audacious plan to rescue the 6 Americans. The plan: have them pose as a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a cheesy sci-fi movie called 'Argo'.
With the help of Hollywood make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) & cranky producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), Tony establishes a fake production company, a cover story, & sets the sci-fi plan into action. With any luck, the plan is for the trapped Americans to pass as Canadian, get through security at the airport, & board a Swiss Air flight to freedom. But what seems straightforward on paper rarely works that way in practice; as our protagonists soon find out.
Knowing that many of the film's elements are taken straight from actual events elevates the importance of what the movie wants to say about the "us versus them" mentality that dominates politics, both then & now. The screenplay takes the basic true events & tweaks them to be more cinematic {and why not? This is a Hollywood movie, after all}. In particular, the suspense inherent in the final 30 min. is ratcheted up by using instances of cross-cutting to show how things fall into place in the nick of time. But guess what ... even though we may know the outcome before the movie starts, Affleck does a great job making us forget the outcome and/or not care that we already know the outcome. He gets our adrenaline pumping. And those climactic minutes bristle with tension.
Affleck does a very good job with the emotional escape sequence & conveys the media coverage of the Iran hostage crisis extremely well. I like that he didn't have to resort to phony shootouts, fights, or pyrotechnics to hold his audience along the way. All the tension/suspense derives from the implication of what could happen if the hostages are caught. Their sense of danger is always palpable. Affleck breaks said tension by occasionally cutting back to the Hollywood scenes where Chambers & Siegel provide humor (though their final scene is used to escalate the stakes during the climax).
From a production standpoint, 'Argo' impresses there, too. Every scene: crisp & concise. Editor William Goldenberg blends movie footage with archival footage that puts the likes of Jimmy Carter, the Shah, the Ayatollah, Mike Wallace, Ted Koppel & Walter Cronkite into the story; all adding further verisimilitude to what we're watching. Concerning art direction, the recreation of Tehran circa 1979 is great. And Alexandre Desplat's moody musical score makes an impact, as well.
Overall, 'Argo' tells a (mostly) compelling story that keeps us viewers on the edge of our seats. Ben Affleck is a better director than actor; and it shows with this film. Now, the script is excellent, but not perfect. i.e., there are scenes in the middle of the movie where certain characters make you 'think' they're saying something more clever/important than they actually are. I also feel that there are a few too many instances where we're seeing the hostages looking worried. I could have stood for some more characterization with the hostages (rather than looking at them be worried). But I digress. 'Argo' is a very good movie. Smart. Enjoyable. I wanted to leap out of my seat with excitement a few times. And there's nothing like a movie that builds & ends on its strongest note.