Well Made, but Best Picture....Maybe?

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2013)

There is no doubt that Ben Affleck is a major directorial talent; Agro, his third effort after Gone Baby Gone and The Town is the story of Tony Mendez, the CIA operative who infiltrated Khomeini's Iran at the height of the 444 day Hostage Crisis and safely extracted 6 Americans who had escaped the takeover of the American Embassy on November 4th, 1979 and found sanctuary with the Canadians. At the time it was known as the "Canadian Caper" and the Central Intelligence Agency's role was classified and kept from the public; all credit for the rescue of the Americans went to Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor, his staff, and the government of Canada.
Argo therefore can be seen as one of those "the real story" expose's, an attempt to set the record straight and give credit to a heretofore unsung hero, Tony Mendez, the man who came up with the idea of creating a fake movie project to use as a cover in order to get the six Americans through Iranian customs disguised as members of a Canadian film crew.
And within these parameters, Affleck succeeds admirably; first in very accurately recreating the world of 1979-1980, not only in Washington and Tehran, but also Hollywood, right down to the shaggy hairdos, way to many mustaches, and side burns worn by men who should have known better. Then, in Chris Terrio's script, laying out just how desperate the situation was for America in Iran after the fall of the Shah when the most powerful men in Washington could do nothing but sit in their offices and hold endless meetings while a government half the world away waged war on them in a manner for which they were wholly unprepared.
Mendez, played by Affleck himself, is presented as a quiet, competent company man, who pulls off a very difficult job using nothing more than smoke, mirrors and pure bluff. Mendez is the anti-Rambo and he would be utterly out of place in a typical action movie revenge fantasy. This is the heart of the story Affleck presents: a tribute to American competency and our dedication to getting the job done.
And there is the rub, for many in the wider world do not see it that way and Argo has rankled many, especially those in the Great White North, who feel that Affleck had tweaked the record at the expense of their country's considerable role in the rescue of the Americans. After all, it was Ambassador Taylor and his staff who stuck their own necks out for months on end by hiding the six Americans in a city where the Ayatollah's mobs ruled, while Mendez was in country only a few days. They certainly have a point, but Affleck has made it clear that this is Mendez's story, told from his point of view.
Then there is the matter of the CIA's role in keeping the Shah in power for so many years; this along with America's support of an oppressive dictator is only lightly touched on in the script. There are many around the world who saw the Hostage Crisis as nothing more than America's just desserts. But the staff at the American Embassy were no more responsible for the Shah than they were for the rise of the Ayatollahs. Khomeini or the Shah? One thing everyone can agree on is that the people of Iran deserved better than either of them.
Bottom line, Affleck has made an historical drama, and as always with movies of this type, especially ones that deal with recent history, the toes of those with political agendas get stepped on. It is up to the viewer to see the movie for themselves and make up their own minds free of influence while taking into account the bias and propaganda of others.
One thing no one disputes is that certain events depicted in Argo have been tweaked for dramatic effect: I'm talking about the tarmac chase at the conclusion, something that never happened in real life.
One thing no one can find fault with is Argo's great cast of familiar faces: Bryan Cranston, Victor Garber (as Ken Taylor), Tate Donovan, Rory Cochrane, Clea Duvall, Kyle Chandler (as Hamilton Jordan), Michael Parks, Chris Messina, Titus Welliver, Zeljko Ivanek, Bob Gunton (as Cyrus Vance), Philip Baker Hall (as CIA Director Stansfield Turner), Adrianne Barbeau. But the real standouts are John Goodman and Alan Arkin as two old Hollywood hands whose involvement in the scheme was essential to its success. Arkin got a well deserved Supporting Actor nomination, while this is the second Best Picture winner in a row to feature Goodman (the other was The Artist).
Did Argo deserve to win Best Picture? Probably not, it's no where near the league of The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Godfather, or even The Departed, all Best Picture winners that resonate with audiences years and decades after they win. I'll bet in a few years we'll be wondering why either Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty or Lincoln didn't take home the golden statue.