Argo

Rating: 9/10 (8 September 2013)

"This is the best bad idea, sir, we have by far."
Slick Hollywood entertainment from director Ben Affleck (with "Gone Baby Gone" and now this, Affleck has now cemented his status as a filmmaker to take serious; the guy knows what he's doing) takes a past event (of course, being a Hollywood joint, there's creative license taken for optimum effect) and provides edge-of-your-seat, gulp-in-the-throat suspense. The event was Iranians rising up against the US Embassy after a ruthless Shah received political asylum in the US. Some are kidnapped while six others in the Embassy escaped to the home of the Canadian Ambassador Taylor (Victor Garber), pretending to be guests but not going outside as to give Iranians in the area a sight of them. CIA 'exfiltrationist', Tony Mendez (Affleck) concocts an unusual escape strategy where he hooks up with a Hollywood make-up artist and producer (John Goodman and Alan Arkin) to fool the city of Tehran with this bogus movie project (a science-fiction B-movie called Argo) supposedly to be shot in Iran at popular spots of certain significance. This will be a ruse to provide fake disguises for the six hiding out at Taylor's: members of the movie project, complete with backgrounds and false identities. It seemed highly unlikely that this would work, but it could be the six Americans only hope. I realize this might offend Canadians and Iranians, but "Argo" felt like a suspensor using events from the Iranian Revolution to craft a nail-biting experience. The CIA gets a ton of support for how this all plays out, but Taylor deserves a great deal of credit because of his help to those six who got out. I think what I believe works so well is how the film takes us into Iran of that time ('79 & '80), with all that unrest and activism, the people taking to the streets with signs and aggression (they were sick and tired and showed it), cars on fire, certain ones being shot in the street, a body hanging from a crane for all to see, and marching crowds protesting about the shah that got away and America's role in that; this is where I think Affleck excels. That and his evocation of the period in Hollywood (love the effort put forth to spotlight the science fiction so popular of the time and the humor towards Hollywood politics) and the dramatics of the inner workings of the CIA are also a treat to see unfold on screen. Cranston (of Breaking Bad fame) has a nice, sizable role as Mendez' superior; he becomes at odds with Tony over "calling off" the operation, by order of their superiors. Affleck superbly alternates between his activities, the six Embassy Americans in Taylor's home, and the Iranian situation.
The final twenty minutes rings every amount of nerve-racking anxiety such a "get the hell out of this place" situation can providewhat makes this movie such a success is that even though we know the results, the direction still keeps us glued to the events as they transpire (this is a masterful piece of damned good direction by Affleck; kudos to his work here). The trip through a crowd of protesters in a van to get to the bazaar, the walk through the bazaar, the juxtaposition of Cranston trying to get the tickets confirmed while the seven are inside in the airport hoping the reservations are set, the permission to board the plane and the detainment, one of the six speaking to one of the detainee militants in the airport in the native tongue about the movie project, the call to the Production Office in Hollywood, and the boarding of the plane as the military rush to stop it; this is all expertly choreographed by Affleck. One of the best films of 2012 easily. Perhaps its major misfortune is the treatment of Canada as not having as significant a part as the CIA; it has the CIA opting to give Canada a token credit while they remain anonymous for its efforts.