Argo Review

1st Nov 2012

Ben Affleck affirms himself as a serious director worth following further with his third foray into the field.

Argo marks a hat-trick for the Director after the well received Gone Baby Gone and The Town. Clearly he’s done his 70’s film-maker research on this one focusing the drama on a real life political situation of Iran in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Six U.S. diplomatic activists are in hiding out in Tehran and the clock is ticking before it is discovered that they are missing from the rest of their pack. Enter the American side and a plot is hatched to smuggle all six out without detection. Cue: plenty of shaggy haircuts walking between offices as national politics are banded about amidst a flurry of imagery relevant to the time. A great deal of footage from the era is used, and remarkably the film itself matches this.

The opening sequence of Islamic militants taking over the U.S. embassy is tense and very reminiscent of some of the best 70’s political thrillers of the time. But the film finds its lighter side as well – often from the supporting cast (Bryan Cranston and Alan Arkin being strong highlights).

Affleck has cast himself in the lead (which did spark controversy) in what is still pretty much an ensemble drama. Whilst his performance is fine, there isn’t a shadow of a doubt that a better choice would have been to gain a much stronger actor in the lead. Affleck is maturing as an actor, but it is happening one drip at a time. But as a director he is becoming comfortably at home and in time may well be lining his shelf space with more than just his co-writing Oscar he earned for 1997’s Good Will Hunting.

Argo, much like the recent Ruby Wax, takes an improbably concept and draws a fine line in the sand between drama and comedy. But whilst Wax had its cowardly feet stood firmly in the pratfalls and safety of the comedy, Argo dares to be more dramatic. It just happens to be very funny in certain places as well, but without compromising the serious nature of the story.