In Review: Argo

The Gist

One of the best films of 2012--if not the best, Argo is intense, thrilling and fulfilling. If anything, Argo further cements the belief that Ben Affleck is one of the most bankable directors of his generation, being an evenly paced movie with a very tight plot and pacing, all while maintaining a certain sense of reality and a storytelling that works.

The Good

• Extremely tight direction and storytelling
• Tense, rewarding, fulfilling cinematic experience
• Perfectly cast, each actor brought something good to the table
• Humorous but does not abandon the non-fiction nature of its source material 

The Bad

• Started off a bit slow
• Minimal use of score, though not really that bad

Synopsis

1980. Iran is in turmoil and a reasonable amount of hate towards America has been cried in the streets by its conservative Shi'ite Muslim residents, asking for the corrupt Shah America has been cradling in its shores. When the riot spilled over to the insides of the American embassy, and its residents seized as hostages by the civilians, 6 diplomats managed to avoid capture and secure a hiding place at the Canadian ambassador's residence, awaiting rescue from America. That or a public execution in streets of Tehran. Tony Mendez (Affleck), a CIA officer, is tasked with the impossible mission of extracting the diplomats. His idea: a sci-fi movie production, heavy in Middle Eastern influence, disguising the 6 diplomats as film crew to secure a flight back to America. But as the plan seem to work as expected, things get interesting when the Iranian insurgents started piecing together the faces of shredded mug shots of the escaped diplomats making their return back home much trickier than expected.

Canadian Caper
Argo is based on the real life events of the declassified CIA Operations that the public dubbed as "Canadian Caper," owing to the fact that the Canadian government participated heavily in safekeeping and smuggling the 6 American diplomats that escaped the siege of the US Embassy in Tehran. The movie adaptation is interspersed with news clips, articles, and good-as-genuine recreation of the 1980 unrest that gives the whole film a real-life feel. Watching Argo felt like witnessing the whole 1980 Iran hostage crisis unfold. The way Affleck stayed faithful to the era, even casting actors that look their real-life counterparts, further fortified the feeling that you are in 1980 and this is the current events you are watching.

Third Time's a Charm
Argo is Affleck's third directorial effort. The first being his sibling-starrer Gone Baby Gone, which co-starred Morgan Freeman and the likable Michelle Monaghan. This was a strong debut for Affleck, garnering a dozen of awards from various critic circles. His second directorial film was another critically lauded film: The Town starring, wait for it, Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner. If anything, the film fortified the belief that Affleck is born to be a director and it further cemented Renner's screen presence. Third time around, Affleck crafted another critically laudable movie starring, wait for it, him. With Argo, people already have set their expectations, what with the things he managed in his previous efforts. It has become natural for people to expect something as good from him and Affleck delivered beyond expectations.

I would admit, the trailer was kind of so-so and didn't manage to build up my interest for Argo, but a quarter into the movie, I am already seeing the sort of build up Affleck is doing and it's the sort of treatment that I love watching. What he accomplished in Argo is something very special, and I hope this is not his career high. He has given me a very good reason to expect more from him in his future work. Affleck has a very specific control of his movies, and Argo was a master class in control and precision. There were no surprises. He made sure that the audience is aware of what is happening, providing cues on how these events would unfold. And because you know what's coming, you don't want them to happen. Tension builds early in Argo, in small repeating cues, that would rear its head full-on in what must have been 2012's most thrilling cinematic chase sequence. There was a crisis and you know it. There were good people in danger of getting publicly executed. These thoughts were repeatedly built upon in Argo so that the climax kept me at the edge of my seat, cursing, cursing, and cursing that no one was answering the phone over at Studio 6, or that the airport door was opening slowly: there was a considerably long amount of time that I was certain that I am ready to have a heart attack because of the mounting tension.

Even if Affleck took some liberty of exaggerating some scenes and inserting one "chase scene" too many, it didn't hinder the movie from feeling real. It was Iran at its most chaotic and Affleck took you back in time. It was, in a sense, a vision further empowered by the media coverage of the Arab Spring, a picture of violence and unrest that happened so recently, relating to the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis set in 1980 became inevitable at 2012.

As for the cast, it was Alan Arkin and John Goodman playing Lester Siegel and John Chambers respectively that won my heart. They were mostly behind the scenes but part of their involvement with the plot made them endearing. They were Mendez's fairy godfathers, helping him pull off an impossible feat. Then there's Clea Duvall and Kerry Bishe playing Cora Lijek and Kathy Stafford that add a layer of feminine vulnerability and strength to the crew trying to escape Tehran. The sort of determination mothers display even if they are aware of their limitations--Duvall and Bishe are both to portray the sort of weakness and strength the situation call for and they pulled it off quite well.

If the movie had any weak spot in the casting department, I'd say it would have to be Ben Affleck himself. I don't know. For some reason, Affleck felt out of place in his own movie. He wasn't particularly bad or unlikable. He just lacked charisma perhaps. But his casting himself didn't really destroy the movie for me. He did good as an actor, even if it felt that for most of the times, he was a plot device, a utility to move the plot, rather than a central character.

The pacing of the movie was very even. It begins a bit slow with a narrative about the conditions of Iran that would trigger the hostage crisis, but things get exciting quite quickly when Operation Argo was given the go signal. From there on, tension mounts quite rapidly, with Affleck dishing out plot thickeners one after another.  One thing I noticed though, Argo's musical score was far from notable. I'm not sure if it's the tension I was feeling while watching the movie, but I don't remember hearing any particular musical score that marked, not that it matters, but it's still a missed chance.

Summing it up, Argo is intense, exciting, and really tense. It does have its humor but it does not stray from its non-fiction source. I couldn't find much fault for it, except perhaps, another actor could've done Tony Mendez. Easily, the Affleck's best and this year's best. It's hard to beat.

My verdict:

Ben Affleck dons a CIA hat, forgets to shave, goes to Iran and piggybacks 6 diplomats home: best movie of the year so far. I'd say

5 out of 5 stars. Passed and highly recommended