ARGO

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Ben Affleck doubles as a CIA operative and movie producer in order to save American lives in the dramatic thriller ARGO.  

The thriller, based on the actual events in 1980 Iran, follows a group of American embassy workers who flee the Iranian consulate following a riotous attack on the building.  The group finds refuge at the Canadian embassy, but this sanctuary is temporary.  

After hearing this news, and understanding the immediacy of the workers predicament, CIA operative Tony Mendez, portrayed by Affleck, devises a plan to extricate the Americans from Iran by having them, and he, pose as a Canadian film crew.  Mendez won't be able to pull off the guise with only CIA assistance, so he calls on the Hollywood community to assist in the mission.

Following in the footsteps of his previous two directorial works, GONE BABY GONE and THE TOWN, ARGO has a rich atmosphere establishing the time, place and most importantly the intensity of the characters’ predicament.  

Whether it’s the embassy workers walking the dangerous streets of Iran or Mendez’s encounters with high-ranking administration officials or Hollywood creative types, Affleck captures the immediacy and importance with each scene.  By creating this distinct and crucial mood, ARGO’s events have a naturally heightened drama.  Where other films rest their outcome on high speed chases, gun play or hand-to-hand combat, ARGO finds more tension and suspense through less combative moments.  

The authenticity of the material also soaks through, as ARGO frames its story well with specific, timely and detailed events and aspects.  

The film also benefits from a collectively strong cast, delivering colorful performances, but not so much as to overshadow the material  Goodman, Alan Arkin, Brian Cranston, and each of the embassy worker actors deliver defined and convincing portrayals of their real life counterparts.  At the forefront is Affleck as Mendez, a man burdened as much by personal events as international ones.  The task at hand is one of life or death for six Americans, and you can see the despair weighing heavily on Mendez through Affleck’s burdensome demeanor and the intensity behind his eyes.  

ARGO is an accomplished and entertaining factually-based dramatic thriller that Hollywood rarely delivers.

Grade: B+