Director: Ben Affleck
Cast: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman
Release Date: 26th October 2012
In 1979, following the takeover of the US embassy in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution, six staff evaded capture and hid in the embassy of the always dependable Canadians. However, the CIA was then tasked with smuggling the fugitives out of the country without arousing the suspicion of the paranoid, Iranian government. Naturally, they turned to Hollywood, setting up a fake movie studio to produce a fake sci-fi film that was to be shot in Iran, then disguising the six hostages as production crew and sneaking them onto a plane home. Now, nearly thirty-four years later, Hollywood has reclaimed the tale and made it into “a film based on the true story of making a fake film”.
Although Argo is workmanlike in its execution, it’s also extremely enjoyable. Ben Affleck, taking on both the lead role of the CIA “exfiltration agent” and (real) directorial duties, is clearly aware that too much exposition could make the film a dry lecture. Accordingly, he decides to be broadly accurate with the facts so he can make up some car chases and cliffhangers to jazz it all up. This means Argo zips along from the embassy invasion to a kitschy, cinematic Los Angeles for some necessary comic riffing from Hollywood players John Goodman and Alan Arkin (both of whom are highlights) to the Tehran-set finale, which expertly plays on the universally-acknowledged fear that comes when an menacing immigration official narrows his eyes at your awkward passport photo.
Nodding to 1970’s paranoia thrillers without overly revering them, Affleck crafts a gripping film despite being out-acted at every turn by his reliable supporting cast. The story is the real star here though and, even if it gives in to blatantly contrived Hollywood triteness in its last act, to paraphrase Bryan Cranston’s CIA supervisor: Argo may not be the most accurate film about the Iranian hostage crisis, but it’s the best least accurate one we’ve got.
