Another in my line of films where I begin by saying “I was not won over by the preview, but went anyway”, and once again I have to say that the film, in this case Argo, was worth it.
Though not as worth it as The Intouchables. Actually, the things that irked me in the preview managed to irritate me in the film itself. The occasional splashes of humour were a cold water pistol shot to the face rather than a refreshing swim in the pool of mirth and there was quite a bit of flag waving even amongst the acknowledgement that the people of Iran probably did have a reason to be aggrieved.
Argo is set at the 70s became the 80s during the Carter presidency. While the West wears bell bottoms and shiny shirts, Iran is undergoing a people’s revolution to overthrow the ruthless dictator who had been ruling and ruthlessly oppressing them. Of course, the ruler was supported by the West, so when the uprising occurs, he flees to the United States and offered asylum, whilst back in Iran, the irate citizenry protest outside the United States embassy in Tehran, eventually storming it and taking the government officials hostage.
Apart from a band of six that make it to the Canadian Ambassador’s house, hiding from the hordes and a hostile government. And so, as the movie starts, Ben Affleck as the Latino Tony Mendez from the CIA, is charged with getting them out.
The scheme he devises to do so is actually quite amusing, and as this is based on a true story, one imagines it is actually what happened. The recreations of Tehran, the anger and moral outrage of the Iranians, and the fear and desperation of the Americans in hiding is all spot on. I am a big fan of Clea DuVall, and so it’s great to see her here in a role where her shell shocked yet mildly annoyed looks can be put to good use.
Meanwhile, back in the States, Affleck puts together a team of Hollywood experts (Alan Arkin once again playing as grumpy old fella and John Goodman playing John Chambers, an in between type person) to help him in his mission, and back at CIA Command, Bryan Cranston gets to run around screaming a lot about getting people out of meetings and tight deadlines and urgency and all sorts of moral outrage of a different, more immediate kind. Kyle Chandler as the Secretary of State is kind of wasted in a minimal role, but he kind of looks like the original guy (as we see over the end credits) so that is… something, at least.
It all comes together really well, stumbling only when it hits the judder bars of Mendez’s estranged wife and his son (which bear almost no relation to anything except in that they are Mendez’s relations) and again, at the end, when a “chase” scene lapses into farce when the previously highly efficient and intelligent Iranian army prove to be completely useless in how to use telephone technology (hopefully that is not giving too much away).
Actually, I seemed to be the only person to find that scene so annoying that I questioned its veracity (i.e., it was made up to make the story more exciting), as my fellow attendees seemed completely satisfied with how events unfolded, so perhaps it was just me being overly critical.
However, at the end of the film, as the credits rolled and ex-President Carter said a few words about the real Mendez, I have to say that I did find that I had enjoyed the film, even if it could have done with a little bit of trimming. And I loved all the references to 80s TV, even if sometimes they did just seem thrown in to give the audience a little giggle.
Verdict: Argo is a really well executed film is let down by a few “dramatized” scenes and some dead weight dialogue, but these impediments are not enough to sink the film entirely. Great work from an impressive cast also helps things immensely. Good work, Mr Affleck, on directing this film! Just, in the future, if you cast aspersions on Kiwis and then claim you didn’t want to, but had to, know that you didn’t have to. 7 Ayatollahs out of 10.
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