Movie #25 - Argo

It's a funny word Argo.  What does it mean? Nothing really. But it's the word on everyone's lips in the last few weeks, that's for sure!  Everywhere I go I hear people talking about it and lots of people are asking me about here. So here without further ado is the review of Argo!

Argo is an excellent little political thriller drama that could potentially draw some Oscar nominations although it has probably been released too soon for that.  Extremely taut and tense, this movie is really all about the story.  There are no big showy action scenes, over the top performances or unnecessary sub-plots.  And that's because the story is a cracker!

The movie is a dramatisation of real events around the 1980 Iran Hostage Crisis.  The hostage crisis arose after a protest by Iranian citizens and students against America for a series of reasons, revolving around the US government's long running support of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (a cruel Shah who was installed after a military coup in 1953 took power from the elected prime minister) and granting asylum and medical treatment to him in his later years after he was finally deposed in the Iranian revoluation in 1979.  While the taking of 52 hostages (who were ultimately kept for 444 days sparking one of the biggest diplomatic incidents in history) could be a cracking story in itself, this actually focuses on 6 US embassy workers who were able to escape the embassy building in the nick of time, and hide out at the Canadian ambassador's residence.

The 6 Americans are trapped in Iran as the insurgents look for any Americans in the country.  Life isn't very fun trapped inside with certain death waiting if you go outside and no seeming way out.  That is where the CIA came in, knowing through their Canadian friends that the workers were in hiding and trying to find a way to get them out of the country safely.  Any screw up in the 'ex-filtration' could cause an even bigger diplomatic incident.  Even with the best heads in the business, they can't come up with anything plausible.  Until Tony Shaeffer, expert in ex-filtration, comes up with 'the best bad idea' which is to pretend he is making a sci-fi fantasy movie, scouting locations in Iran, and the 6 were his movie crew.  Do you know how absurd that sounds?  It's a completely outrageous idea but one that actually did happen, as this story was declassified by the CIA approximately 10 or so years ago.

Once the fake movie, named Argo, is approved then we have a very fun segment as Tony (Ben Affleck) enlists the help of Hollywood guys John Chambers (John Goodman as the makeup and effects whiz) and Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin as the big-shot director) to create a bit of hype about this fake movie to make the cover story more believable.  This segment lets them take a bit of a pot shot at the Hollywood machine from within which is great fun but unfortunately must come to an end when they actually get down to the business of getting into Iran, meeting the group and trying to get them out.  From there, it all gets very serious and very tense as you wonder whether they are indeed going to make it out of this very suspicious environment with their lives.  And some of the diplomats are not doing the group any favours with their distrust of Tony and his scheme.

I really enjoyed the second half of this movie, as it keeps the focus tight on the story and characters and ratchets up the tension by the second as they attempt to get to the airport and out of the country.  No spoilers here though!  It is well worth a watch and as I said, probably could be up for some screenplay and directing Oscars.  Ben Affleck has done a great job directing his third movie (after Gone, Baby Gone and The Town) and puts in a quiet, unflashy performance as the main character.  Good support from Bryan Cranston as the CIA boss and the actors playing the embassy workers but nothing here is a standout performance.  Just a strong ensemble telling a good story.  Go see it!