Argo
★★★★
(2012)
Ben Affleck's brilliantly written and assuredly directed comedy thriller is already surrounded by multiple Oscar rumours. The actors third feature behind the camera is certainly his most ambitious yet and he truly succeeds in handling a tricky balance of laughs and power. Backed up by a tremendous cast, Affleck delivers a surprisingly quiet, unshowy and staggeringly generous performance, allowing the audacity of the film's true story, and it's supporting players to shine on screen.
In the late 1970's after six American government officials escaped from a riot within the US embassy in Tehran, the difficult job of getting them home was given to one Tony Mendez (Affleck), an expert in extraction, who concocted a plot which should have had hollywood drooling a long time ago.
While 50 other hostages were being watched by the world's news 24/7, the small group of runaways took shelter in the Canadian ambassador's house, safe and sound. Mendez, fired up after watching Planet of the Apes on TV with his son, brainstorms a ludicrous extraction plan with the CIA. The American government would set up a film company on the west coast, option a script, do the minimal base work and the cover would allow the six of them to pose as a film crew, scouting exotic locations in Iran for a Science Fiction film titled Argo, then they would simply get on a plane and fly off in to the sunset.
Mendez first has to get Make Up legend and Oscar winner John Chambers (John Goodman) on board and veteran producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin). The pair make a fantastically grouchy double act, lightening the darkness of some of the earlier scenes in Argo, bickering hilariously with the Hollywood system while Mendez fights for support within the CIA. Bryan Cranston is fantastic as Mendez's boss Jack O'Donnell and Phillip Baker Hall seems to leave a mark in anything he does, no matter how short the screen time. The six in trouble (Scoot McNairy and Rory Cochrane among others) and are also fantastic, squabbling and understandably nervous along side a hulking quiet Affelck;
Apart from the true story on which its is based, Argo is certainly influenced by the 70's political thrillers of Sidney Lumet and Alan J Pakula, the final nail biting 20 minutes are clearly reminiscent of All the Presidents Men. The details are perfect, the bushy 70's facial hair, the purposely high film grain and a fantastic Zeppelin and Aerosmith pop soundtrack blends with Alexandre Desplat's frantic stings beuatifully. Of course, like most American success stories, the final 5 minutes almost resorts to some embarrassing flag waving but Affleck keeps things so unbelievably high strung in the escape scenes preceding that they end up being small niggles in a wonderfully funny and gripping film.
When discussing how the six government officials will learn their cover in time for the operation Goodman tells Affleck, "You could teach a rhesus monkey how to direct a film in a day." Affleck has certainly silenced his critics with this taught, intelligent and finely made piece of work. And, what's more, he hardly even had to fire a shot.
