When truth is much stranger than fiction
Fiction couldn't be any stranger than the truth in Argo, based on real-life events following the 1979 storming of the US Embassy in Tehran.
Ben Affleck is a deserved front-runner for the Best Director statuette at next year's Academy Awards for his work on this gripping thriller that keeps us teetering on the edge of our seats for the entire two hours.
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Undated Film Still Handout from Argo. Pictured: JOHN GOODMAN as John Chambers, ALAN ARKIN as Lester Siegel and BEN AFFLECK as Tony Mendez. See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.
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film within a film: Ben Affleck, centre, as Tony Mendez, in Argo.
The leading man has been a solid presence on screen for more than 20 years but it's more recently, behind the camera, that he has truly excelled.
His script for Good Will Hunting, co-written with Matt Damon, won an Oscar and critics have lavished superlatives on his directorial efforts Gone Baby Gone and The Town.
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Argo restores Affleck to thriller territory, working from a lean script by Chris Terrio.
On November 4, 1979, simmering tensions outside the US embassy finally boil over. Militants break through the barricades and storm the building.
Iranians capture 52 Americans but six members of staff manage to escape to the nearby residence of the Canadian ambassador.
They hide in a basement while awaiting news from the outside world.
Back on American soil, CIA extractor Tony Mendez (Affleck) concocts an elaborate scheme to rescue the escapees: he will pose as a film producer who has come to Iran to scout for locations for a sci-fi epic called Argo.
The six stranded embassy staff will adopt the guise of his crew and escape together under false passports.
When Tony arrives on Iranian soil, he soon realises his smooth talking and experience might not be enough to save the embassy staff from an Iranian firing squad.
Argo holds our attention hostage in a vice-like grip and refuses to let go. Taut pacing, slick editing and escalating tension are underpinned by emotionally wrought performances from a sensational ensemble cast.
The nail-biting climax succumbs to dramatic licence but by that point we forgive Affleck everything.
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