Showing @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle until Thu 29 Nov
Ben Affleck / USA / 2012 / 120 min
For all we may feel disenfranchised by western politics, pro-US jingoism, neoliberal reconciliation and insincerity, the fact is that when it comes to nifty storylines, the CIA as a spy agency provides some winners. The plan hatched by the Canadian government and Langley in 1980 was something of mad genius, and Ben Affleck has tapped into this once classified mission with nous and creative finesse.
After years of secrecy and silence, Clinton released the files containing the extraction details of six US embassy staff working in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution. At the start of 1980, the government brought in a leading ‘exfil’ specialist, played by Affleck himself in the film, to pose as a Canadian filmmaker scouting location spots in Iran with his production team. He would fly into the country, locate the officials, supply them with new identities and ‘get them the hell outta there!’
If this wasn’t a true story, many critics would be writing about the absurdity of the plot, how it is farfetched to the point of insulting. But, like many of those real-life testimonies, it confirms the gameness of US secret ops and the gamble that The White House is willing to take. There is a similar level of intelligence in Affleck’s film: a detailed study of his character, torn away from family by work and sacrifice. Argo also opens up a welcome, albeit narrow view into the conflict surrounding regime change and imperialism in Iran from the 1950s onwards, and Affleck is able to explore the history without turning it into a blockbuster or chase thriller.
In truth, he’s becoming a skilled director at crisis dramas, bringing some exciting action in The Town (2010) after starting relatively strongly with Gone Baby Gone (2007) – a directorial debut feature most people forget about. His early career as a competent film director is starting to take shape; Argo is smarter than your ordinary Hollywood hit and is prepared to tackle hefty questions about the process of decision-making at the highest level of operational politics. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to avoid discussing the end of the film, which plummets right into cliché heist territory, suffocating in the painful will they/won’t they escape finale. Most of Affleck’s hard work in making this film about more than just US infiltration is at risk of being undone and there is a lasting impression that the outcome isn’t quite satisfactory.
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