ARGO
Theatrical.

I’ve generally held to the idea that Ben Affleck is to entertainment what arsenic is to cooking, so it’s a real ‘Hell freezing over’ moment for me to report that Argo, both starring and directed by the man, is something of a masterpiece. I know ­ I’m shocked too, but there it is. This is the best new film I’ve seen in a very long time.

The story is one that you’d probably dismiss as ludicrously far-fetched if it wasn’t peskily based on real events. The film opens in 1979, as an opening narration sets the scene for the Islamic revolution in Iran that took place that year ­ a nation ruled by a Western-imposed despot and torturer that seethed with resentment and finally spilled over into a revolt where the lunatics took over the asylum ­ a crazed religious, anti-Western fanaticism that gripped the nation at the same time that institutions of law and order crumbled, creating a vacuum where extremists flourished, ‘enemies’ were executed on the street and, most notoriously, the US embassy was invaded and sixty diplomats held hostage. As a crazed mob take over the embassy, six people manage to slip out and take refuge in the Canadian ambassador’s residence, but it soon becomes clear that the Iranian regime have realised that they are missing and are searching for them. They need to be rescued, but no plan seems possible until CIA operative Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes up with a scheme so ridiculous that it might just work. Teaming up with legendary make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) and producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) to create a fake movie project that will be scouting locations in Iran, with the six fugitives given new identities as Canadian filmmakers, thus allowing them to be smuggled out of the security-heavy country.

While the film takes some liberties with the facts (because it’s a feature film, not a documentary), the basics of the story are adhered to, and Affleck’s film is a master class in juggling the tension of the situation in Iran ­ where discovery would almost certainly mean a very public death ­ and the absurdity of the fake movie project, a space opera called Argo. In order to make the story seem real, Argo has to go through a genuine pre-production period, with casting calls, press conferences and ads in Variety, leading to plenty of humour about the fakery and bullshit-ridden nature of the Hollywood system, where you can become a success without ever actually making a movie. There’s a lot of cynical comedy here, but it never clashes uncomfortably with the very tense situation for the escapees (and, for that matter, their Canadian rescuers). The sense of danger and threat in the film is palpable, and the climatic section is about as grippingly tense as anything you will have seen ­ this despite the fact that you probably already know the outcome.

Affleck is excellent as Mendez, buried behind 1970s hair and beard, and he’s ably matched by Bryan Cranston as his partner, while Arkin and Goodman make a great comedy team (and the catchphrase ‘Argo fuck yourself’ is a moment of genius). The film itself avoids being overly flashy ­ it actually feels like a movie from the period it is set in ­ and the politics are nicely nuanced. While Iran is shown as a country in chaos (which it was), the US political system is barely more competent, with both the politicians and the security agencies wringing their hands, being lost for ideas and fully aware of their own part in bringing the situation about (the US gave the hated Shah asylum instead of returning him to Iran to stand trial). If the film engages in a moment of sentiment and celebration at the end, that’s fair enough ­ this is not a movie that pretends that the whole Iran hostage situation was anything other than a national embarrassment for the country, and it’s decidedly not some gung-ho, right-wing revisionist piece.

Argo is not a film that might immediately seem appealing, but I’d advise you to put aside any doubts and go out of your way to see it. It’s a remarkable work and I very much doubt you’ll see better this year.

DAVID FLINT