Another Directorial Home Run for Affleck

Rating: 9/10 (12 February 2013)

Argo is the story of six Americans who escaped the captured embassy in Tehran, Iran while under siege by the Iranians during the Iranian Revolution and the man whom took on the task of their rescue. This is Ben Affleck's third directing effort after having great response to both Gone Baby Gone and The Town. Affleck also stars in Argo as CIA evacuation specialist Tony Mendez. The film also stars Alan Arkin as film producer Lester Siegal and John Goodman as Hollywood make-up artist John Chambers.
Mendez is tasked with the daunting assignment of getting these six Americans out of Iran and imminent death. Mendez and the CIA have a long list of possibilities but none of them are plausible and each has a high expectancy of failure. Mendez comes up with the idea of him flying to Tehran and bringing the escapees out under the guise of being a film crew scouting a location for a Hollywood Science fiction film. It is here where I believe the theme of the film lies. I believe Affleck is trying to portray the sheer power of Hollywood and the emotions that a movie can evoke while also telling a gripping tale of international intrigue. It is evident that the American film industry carries great weight with the Iranian diplomats and officers as, even in this time of uncertainty; Mendez is able to take the six escapees to the center of Tehran in the middle of the day with the Iranian Ministry of Culture. The films basis is in that of international intrigue and on more than one occasion reminds me of Munich, Steven Spielberg's 2005 film about the Israeli government's secret operations after the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympics.
Affleck uses lighting in a way that adds a great deal of detail to the feel of the story. Being a period piece set in 1980, the film is in widescreen high definition but has a grainy and dark feel throughout. I believe this captures the essence of the time and takes the viewer to that period. Everything about the film screams early 80s from the lighting to the text used in the subtitling. If Affleck wanted to give the film an authentic feel, he succeeded greatly. Additionally, there is the reoccurring motif of Mendez's desire to reconnect with his wife and son. This is brought up on several occasions throughout the film, with none being more memorable than when Mendez and Siegal are discussing family at Siegal's pool.
In the end, Argo is exactly what Affleck set out for it to be. It is a Hollywood hit and film-making at its finest. He draws on every aspect of the true story as well as earlier experiences behind the camera to create a well done, however historically flawed, film that captures the audience from the beginning and doesn't let go until the end.