The movie is about the Iranian hostage crisis of 1980. As revolutionists overtook the U.S. Embassy in Iran, six American embassy workers escaped, finding refuge in the Canadian ambassador's home. Tony Mendez (Affleck) is called in to work with the CIA to try and find a way to get the six Americans home safely. Ideas are passed around between Mendez and the group, until Mendez comes up with the idea of acting as a film scout for a fake science fiction movie that wants to look at Iran as a filming location. Mendez' plan is to fly into Iran and fly out with the six Americans acting as his film crew. The group is skeptical at first, but ultimately decide to give him the OK to go through with the scheme. The best part of all this? It actually happened. Keep that in mind; when you think this story is so ridiculous that it couldn't have possibly happened: it did. Also, this isn't the kind of movie that only takes a true event as its starting point and adds layers of fictional story on top of the actual event that the real story is more like an afterthought in the end.
The movie does a really great job of being dramatic but not being overly serious. There's no doubt this was a terrible event while it was unfolding in 1980, but the film doesn't try to push the drama anymore than it should. It has it's great light-hearted moments as well early on, when Affleck is roaming Hollywood trying to find people he can trust with the information on the hostages. John Goodman plays John Chambers, who is a well known makeup artist in Hollywood who has helped the government out with situations like this in the past. There are some great moments between Affleck and Goodman on screen, particularly when Goodman is approached. Alan Arkin plays the movie producer who decides to help Affleck and his crew. Both Goodman and Arkin's characters are very much the comic relief. I hate to use the word character here, because these are real people being portrayed, and all of the actors do such a great job of nailing their roles.
I heard Affleck talk in an interview recently that he made the six actors playing the hostages live together for a period of time before filming began. They weren't allowed much time away from each other or the place they were staying in. He said that that helped the six actors not only understand and appreciate what those six people went through for so long, but also grow together as a group. It really shows on screen in the scenes the six people share together.
It may have just been me, but noticed a lot of emphasis on characters eyes throughout the movie. In almost every scene, there was a close up on a characters face. It may not make sense, but there was a lot of eye movement throughout the movie, and it became almost like a point of interest in the movie. The style reminded me a lot of classic directors like Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick, who put a lot of emphasis on character expressions and point-of-view shots in movies. I know, lumping Ben Affleck into the same sentence with two iconic directors seems blasphemous, but, he's off to a really good start.
As far as Oscar chances go, I'll say if Argo isn't nominated for Best Picture I'd be really, really shocked. If Ben Affleck doesn't get a nod for Best Director I'll be really surprised. This movie has all the makings of an Oscar contender: great, enjoyable story, great acting by an all star cast, and the public seems to really be enjoying it so far. I really think Bryan Cranston, who I haven't mentioned yet, has a solid chance at a Best Supporting Actor nomination. He's really great as Affleck's go to guy on the mission, and it's nice to see him in a role like this. Secondary categories, like Cinematography and Editing, are solid locks in my mind as well. If there's one thing I can remember best from Affleck's three features, it's that the editing has been great in all three.
Ben Affleck was already a pretty solid director before he made Argo. Now, though, he's solidified himself as one of the best ones working today. Which is great, because back in the early 2000's, his acting career really, really sucked. Argo is definitely a must see and is, at this point, the best movie of the year.
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Affleck does a nice job with his direction, but this is definitely not his strongest feature despite being his most ambitious. It’s entertaining, well-acted, and fun to watch, but not as tense as it should have been. Good review James.
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