Argo

In Greek mythology, Argo was the name of the ship that Jason used to retrieve the Golden Fleece, and was considered the first seagoing war vessel by many historians. How this translates to the title of a fictitious sci-fi film from the early 1980's, I honestly have no idea other than it's the vehicle that Ben Affleck uses to retrieve his 2012 Oscar nominations.

Ben Affleck's follow-up to 2010's The Town is a remarkable true story set in Iran, circa 1980. Affleck plays CIA ex-filtration specialist Tony Mendez, who has the idea to use a terrible pre-production film called Argo as a ploy to rescue six Americans who are hiding in the Canadian ambassador's home following the collapse of the US embassy.

The film has been getting considerable Oscar buzz, and rightfully so. The preposterous nature of the story propels it forward, and a great ensemble cast delivers subtle performances that are made authentic by the terrible hair and fashion of the late 70's. Couple that with the civil unrest and anti-American sentiment in Iran during the time, and the tension is palpable, right from the opening credits. A very poignant film in our current climate as well.

Affleck interestingly casts himself in the lead role for the second straight movie, which is an interesting move. Not that he does badly, just his reputation and performance as a director is moving out of a pretty face with a lucky break and into that of a truly respectable auteur. He is a damn good director.

His acting is mostly emotionless, and he gives himself some good lines, but he is mostly an introspective professional who drinks to bury the idea that he might fail, and that it would get innocent American killed if he does. There is a minor subplot about his failing marriage and the somewhat estranged relationship with his son, which isn't completely unnecessary, but doesn't have any real traction.

The true draw here is the predicament. These six Americans are trapped, and the Iranian Guard is searching for them, closing in with each passing day. It's a game of beat the clock, and Affleck's Mendez is racing against time to get his plan rolling before the Iranians figure it out. The suspense boils over in the final act as they make their way to the airport. This kind of breathless edge-of-your-seat tension is the stuff good films are made of. Affleck crushes the pacing and the authenticity of suspense.

Supporting Affleck are a trio of veterans; John Goodman, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston. Each gives exactly what is necessary to garner just enough attention. I particularly enjoyed Arkin's cavalier attitude as a movie producer past his twilight who's brought in the loop to make Argo seem as real as possible. Cranston is very quickly becoming one of my favorite actors around, and Goodman is great as usual. Also commendable are Tate Donovan, who looks more and more like Tim Robbins every day (and has aged 30 years in the past decade), and Victor Garber as the Canadian ambassador. True, he doesn't have much screen time, and has very little dialogue, but he has screen presence and commands authority with each scene he's in.

Carter gives a nice take on the events during the closing credits and there are some side by side photos that make you wonder which are from the actual people and events and which are from the film. The similarities and attention to detail are shockingly uncanny, and Affleck obviously wanted the viewer to see his painstaking process. Part of it was surely homage to the man, Tony Mendez, and the people who were involved in the ordeal.

Argo is a great film, and deserving of all of the Oscar praise. Expect writing, directing, and picture nominations for sure. It is something different, and the contrast of the Argo sci-fi ruse with the Argo CIA operation is a fun balance act that adds an unexpected dimension to what would otherwise be a terse political work of non-fiction storytelling.

Go see this film if you like a good story. You won't be disappointed. 9/10.