Black Bag, the latest feature from the seemingly tireless Stephen Soderbergh, is the kind of smart, stylish thriller we see too few of these days. Featuring a taut script from third time Soderbergh collaborator David Koepp, this spry spy flick centres the complicated marriage of two master agents at the top of their game as they attempt to navigate their way out of some very dangerous waters. Surrounding stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender with a suitably stellar supporting cast, Soderbergh crafts a fast-paced and engaging tale of modern spy craft well worth the price of admission.
Fassbender stars as British intelligence agent George Woodhouse, tasked in the opening minutes of the film with ferreting out the mole responsible for leaking a top-secret piece of software code-named Severus. The catch? His wife – fellow agent Kathryn St. Jean (Blanchett) – is at the top of a list of five possible suspects. With only a week to complete his mission, George wastes no time in rounding up the suspects… for a dinner party. They make for an interesting group: Freddie (Tom Burke), a boorish drunk, is also a savvy and calculated agent resentful at being passed over for promotion; Clarissa (Marisa Abela), satellite imagery specialist and Freddie’s much younger girlfriend; rising star James (Regé-Jean Page), recently promoted at Freddie’s expense; and agency psychiatrist Zoe (Naomie Harris), privy to all their secrets.
Fassbender’s performance is at first deceptively robotic (perhaps opaque might be a more apt description), but this opening dinner party sequence serves not only as a delicious aperitif to the audience, but illuminates a great deal about the complexities of his character, his marriage, and how he’s viewed by the people who surround him. Having dosed his guests with truth serum, George masterfully pushes their buttons, teasing out all manner of fascinating revelations and tensions simmering barely beneath the surface. Only Kathryn, already warned off the chana masala, escapes with her composure intact.
Of course, when a spy’s inhibitions are unknowingly lowered in this way, they may not stop at spilling their own secrets, and luckily for the audience, Freddie knows a few of George’s as well. Legendary amongst his colleagues for his unflagging devotion to his wife and marriage, George clearly lives by a strict moral code. It may not be the one you and I might live by, but it is nothing if not well defined. Indeed, far from robotic or cold, George is a deeply passionate man, as evidenced by the sordid family tale revealed by his drunken underling. Once tasked with surveilling his own father (also an agent, and inveterate – but careful – cheater), George took the opportunity to finally catch him in the act, ruthlessly exposing him at a family dinner. Here is a man whose rage is tamped down deep, but whose loyalty knows – quite literally – no bounds. Adhering slavishly to his own personal code, under the right circumstances, he will burn the house to the ground to protect those that he truly loves. The count, as far as I can tell, includes only his mother… and Kathryn.
Having thrown the rock in the proverbial water (as George so eloquently puts it), we then have the pleasure of observing the ripples. To reveal too many twists and turns would spoil the fun, but suffice it to say the film is full of such smartly executed set pieces – the polygraph sequence is a notable standout – with each one leaving you more confused about who is truly playing whom. The dim, fuzzy photography might be an acquired taste, but it’s a hallmark of the Soderbergh style, and Black Bag is a film that has his name written all over it. Subtly recalling elements of his previous efforts, I could have spotted the prolific director’s fingerprints a mile away, a distinctiveness all the more impressive give the breadth and variety of his filmography. As the film careened towards its speedy conclusion, I found myself questioning whether or not Soderbergh had completely stuck the landing. Nevertheless, despite a few loose ends here and there, it was still one hell of a fun ride.
Black Bag is currently screening in cinemas across North America.
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