There was a time when Ben Affleck’s career was heading down a WC with the flush on full power, but for whatever reason he has decided to stop being a big-headed film star in dumb movies and start realising his genuine talent. This political thriller is a perfect vehicle for his understated performance, and he directs with skill and complete conviction. The result is one of the best thrillers of the year and miles away from the disasters of Daredevil and the appalling Gigli.
Argo is part Hollywood satire and part 1970s-style political thriller a difficult balance to hit but somehow Affleck pulls it off completely. On one level it’s a straightforward rescue thriller, but the Hollywood theme of the story gives it a lightness of touch Affleck never overdoes the satire or the thriller aspect.
Based on a true story, it sees the big man as Tony Mendez, a CIA officer called in to help after the US Embassy in Iran is stormed by the military in 1979. Six US embassy workers manage to escape and hide out in the basement of the Canadian Embassy, but time is ticking. Despite frenzied efforts to destroy paperwork, it’s only a matter of time before the Iranian military work out that six workers are missing, and before the shreds of paper that made up their passport pictures are pieced together.
The US decide on a rescue mission, but can’t decide on the best cover story crop inspectors are no good as snow is on the ground, English teachers are no good as the school has been shut down. The best idea the only idea is from Mendez, who says if they make a fake Hollywood movie they can pretend the six are a film crew looking for locations.
It can only work if the film is actually put into early production, so Mendez has to find a script, director and producer. Enter Arkin as a washed up but still spiky director, Goodman as a pushy producer, and Argo, a terrible script written by a hack but with all the right elements sci-fi locations, bad actors, awful costumes. It’s here that Affleck could let rip if he wanted to, to show how truly bad Hollywood films end up getting made, but he never overdoes it. Arkin has one line summing the idea up: You want us to lie about making a film? Everyone in Hollywood lies!’, and he then leaves it at that.
The film then becomes a tense political thriller, as Mendez flies to Tehran, and preps the nervous six workers in their pretend roles as filmmakers. They are unconvinced to say the least, but admit he’s their only option. The tension is ratcheted up notch by notch to almost unbearable levels, but always convincingly. The housemaid at the Canadian embassy starts to wonder if something is wrong, kids in a sweatshop piece together photos from shredded paper, the military is moving in. A scene where the film crew’ are invited to scout for locations goes horribly wrong, but even here Affleck allows himself a nice joke the cameraman’ is looking through his lensfinder the wrong way.
By the final act, with Affleck trying to get his six charges through passport control, the tension is almost unbearable, even though we know the outcome. Affleck’s clever scheme is to surround himself with actors who have little star value but are just perfect for each role. Arkin enjoys himself hugely as the old director, and Goodman is perfect as his larger than life producer, but the six embassy workers are admirably understated. Affleck himself is quite superb, never allowing himself to be overly heroic, always understated and desperately trying to keep his nervousness under control. A simple handshake is all the celebration he allows himself the only question is why did he allow himself to make such terrible movies 10 years ago? If he had made movies like this then he’s have a fine body of work by now.
Overall verdict: Cracking political thriller and entertaining Hollywood satire, with Affleck on top form in a project which fits his talents perfectly. More like this please, Ben.
Reviewer: Mike Martin