Nail-biting hostage rescue thriller without a single shot fired – brilliant!

Rating: Null/10 (23 November 2012)

What makes this film so remarkable, besides the excellent work of all involved, is the fact that this is a true story, not simply "inspired by", but the true story itself, revealed to the world only after remaining a CIA top secret for 18 years. This is the rescue of 6 Americans in 1979, hidden in the Canadian embassy after 52 fellow countrymen were taken hostages by Iranian revolutionary forces in Tehran. The apparently perfunctory rescue plan, quipped "the best bad idea by far", turned out to be yet another testament to "truth is stranger than fiction".
The establishing scene looks so chillingly real that it would have you believe that this is a live documentary, depicting the mayhem during which the six slipped through to find refuge in the Canadian embassy. Initially, their existence was unknown to the hostage-takers but it was only a matter to time before the not-too-thoroughly shredded documents were put back together, revealing not only their existence but also their photos.
In complete control of the tension and the drama (not melodrama but real-life drama), director Ben Affleck takes the audience through the scheme of CIA professional rescue expert Tony Mendez (also played by himself, with admirable understatement) starting with fabricating a fake Hollywood Sci-fi project called "Argo", complete with screenplay, storyboard and lavish advertisement events. He then goes to Tehran alone, telling the custom that a crew of six people is coming on a separate flight to join him in seeking a filming location that will resemble a desolate alien planet. Enough about the plot (also a true story, pardon this reminder).
Afflect, as mentioned, wisely underplays the hero. The sanguine image projected to his rescue objects belies the doubts and fear that the audience are allowed to get glimpses of only when he is alone. His tenacious quality fully surfaced at his insistence on countermending orders from the highest authority to abort, and this feat was not possible without the support of sympathetic CIA chief, played by empathy-winning Bryan Cranston.
The angst alive on the faces of the six fugitives will leave indelible images in the minds of the audience. In a wide spectrum of various persona, they are all capably portrayed by a solid support cast. In particular, you'll remember Kerry Bishe (easily reminding you of Julianne Moore) playing the timorous wife who regrets staying back in Tehran with her career-ambitious husband when the first sign of political trouble appeared. In the end, the six display not a little courage, which was necessary to see them through.
The Canadian ambassador and his wife are played by Victor Garber and Page Leong with assured credibility, from their selfless risk of harbouring the fugitives to their own final safe exit. There is also a small but impressive role of the maid Sahar (Shelia Vand) who saw through the secret of these six "guests" in her employer's house, but in the eleventh hour chose to shield them when questioned by snooping Iranian security people. The punitive repercussions would be too horrible to contemplate and the movie makers take special care to show how she passed safely into Iraq, to the audience's sigh of relief.
Leaving the best till last, I now go to Alan Arkin and John Goodman, the two Hollywood men cooking up this outlandish scheme. Arkin, in particular, is good enough for a support Oscar, limited screen time notwithstanding, with just one scene in which he negotiates for the right of the screenplay "Argo". Being safely at home and being Hollywood people, these two provide some top-notch comic relief, but never to the extent of upsetting the continuously mounting tension culminating in a cliff-hanger climax.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this movie is that while you know how it ends, it manages to keep you hanging at the edge of your seat from beginning to end.