After having starred in such classics as Gigli and Jersey Girl... I mean, Good Will Hunting and Pearl Habour, he has recently been out to prove that he can also direct. After the interesting Gone Baby Gone and the fast-paced The Town, Affleck is now back with the intriguing political thriller, Argo.
Argo is set in 1979 when the American Embassy in Iran is stormed by Iranian Revolutionaries, because they want their ex-leader returned to them who has been granted exile by the United States. During the attack on the Embassy, six Americans manage to escape and hide out thanks to the Canadian Embassy Leader, Ken Taylor (Victor Garber). With no where to turn to and the rest of the workers at the American Embassy being taken hostage, it falls down to Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) who has the idea to pose as a Canadian film crew on a location scout, before sneaking the American Embassy workers out of the country. It's a tall order and requires help from Producer, Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and Make-Up Artist, John Chambers (John Goodman), as he is getting little help and support from the American Government.
First off, Argo is a well-made film, as Affleck proves once again that he can easily handle the camera from behind-the-scenes as well as acting in front of it. The film starts off at an immediate fast-pace, as it opens with the storming of the American Embassy and the escape of the six Americans, Bob Anders (Tate Donovan), Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall), Joe Stafford (Scoot McNairy), Lee Schatz (Rory Cochrane), Mark Lijeck (Christopher Denham) and Kathy Stafford (Kerry Biché). The threat from the Iranians is obvious and great as high flying arial shots show us the amount of Iranian Revolutionaries and how annoyed they are by the hiding of their ex-leader. Interestingly, the film also shows the dark side of the American leadership, as when they find out that six of their workers have escaped, they turn down the initial plans for their escape. However, I felt like this was an avenue that wasn't properly explored - it was easy for Affleck to show the Iranians in a bad light, but it would have made the film much more interesting and tense if his character, Mendez faced much more threat and disbelief from the American Government as well. I know the film is fact, as this may not have been factual, but hey... it's called artistic license!
Another strong point to the film is the cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto and production design by Sharon Seymour. The smoky interiors and the retro clothing and props all helped to set the mood and time period of the film without being too over-bearing. It was when the group of six undercover Americans and Mendez were creeping around the Iranian bazaar on a fake location scout, that cinematography and direction by Affleck really blended together so well - the dusty and bleak surroundings combined with the claustrophobic shot choices really helped amp up the tension to the maximum. In fact, most of the film's tension was really brought to the forefront of the story in the final act, when they were trying to escape Iran in the airport, which was all handled very well by Affleck and writer, Chris Terrio.
However, while Argo has a brilliant mixture of tension right at the beginning of the film and during the final act, it's surprisingly absent in the middle. There could have been some tense revelations into how the undercover American workers were hiding out in the Canadian Embassy (there was a slight glimmer of this when one of the women witnessed an execution right outside her window, but that was it) or even the conflicts that the American Government Officials were facing back at home (again, there was a glimmer of this when they were debating which plan to go with), but neither of them seemed to really go anywhere. I was ready to love this film, especially after Affleck's last outing, the brilliant The Town, but somehow it felt a little but underdeveloped - much like the crappy Sci-Fi flick they were blagging as their legitimate film script in the actual film.
However, the lack of tension during the middle of the film did allow for some much needed character development between Mendez, Siegel and Chambers as they planned their "fake hit". The finding of the worst film script, the meeting with the script agent to buy the script, the designing of the film poster and then the press release of the script read-through all helped secure these characters as a believable team and some biting jokes at the Hollywood film system! It's just a shame that the same amount of care wasn't given to the American Embassy workers stuck in Iran - it would have been worthwhile to devote some screen time to the group bonding together, as it would have helped amp the tension up even more when they were sneaking through the airport undercover at the end.
So, overall Argo is a brilliantly tense political thriller that is another step towards helping Ben Affleck prove he is the next generation of Clint Eastwood's, who can act and direct. While the film did feel like it lulled a little bit in the middle, the amazingly tense opening and finale more than made up for it. A complicated, political story well told...
**** / *****
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