I want to
start off by talking about taking artistic liberties. It really aggravates the
way filmmakers, like Ben Affleck who take creative freedom in their films, gets
so much hate for it. It is important to remember that they are making a movie,
not a documentary to tell the truth, but a movie made to entertain people. We
must also remember that at the beginning of the film it says based on or
inspired by real event, which in no way means everything displayed in the film
is grounded in reality, the filmmaker uses the information that helps him or
her making the best film possible. So yes a lot of this film is fictionalized,
but that is the way they have decided to do it and it works so please just deal
with it.
Now like I
said, the film is inspired by real events in an Iranian hostage crisis in 1979,
where around 60 Americans were taken hostage in the American Embassy in Iran,
however six people managed to escape and hide out at the American ambassadors
house, with no way out of the country. 9 months later they are still stuck
there and the CIA are starting to try to find the best option of getting them
out when Tony Mendez suggest they go in as a Canadian film crew and after a lot
of back and forth they figure out that this is “the best bad plan” they have.
Ben Affleck
both stars and directs this picture, making it his third film, and delivers on
both fronts. He has had a lot of misses as an actor, but I think this might be
one of his best performances, maybe even worthy of an Oscar nomination. A lot
of people seem to be dismissing his performance as just wooden or too stoic,
which I myself thought at first, but eventually I realized what a great job he
was doing with subtleties. Eventually I realized that Mendez himself was
incredibly scared himself and he didn’t seem all that confident that his plan
would work. However as he was trying to convince the six people to trust him
with their lives and so he has to show them that he is confident that the plan
will work. It is not a very showy performance, which I like, and there was even
a scene where I thought he was going to a classic Oscar-bait breakdown scene,
but instead it was subtle and calm. The other performances are also great with
possible supporting nods for either Bryan Cranston or Alan Arkin or even John
Goodman, as they all deliver perfect performances. The film also did a good job
of giving most of the supporting characters some form of characterization and
all accompanied by good performances.
As for
Affleck´s directing it is also very well done and nomination worthy, gripping
the viewer from the very first scene (which was absolutely terrifying) until
the nail-biting climax. But what is maybe even more impressive then how well he
builds tension, is how he seamlessly blends a pretty frightening international
thriller, with a comedic Hollywood satire, two genres that don’t seem like a
natural fit, yet somehow it works. Also I would say that despite adding
dramatic elements to the story that are clearly fictional, the film manages to
stay incredibly realistic thanks too great writing and directing.
There are
very few issues I have with the film, only minor issue I have is that I felt
that the portrayal of the Iranian revolutionaries seemed a bit off at times,
but it didn’t really drag the film down for me. It is probably Affleck´s best
film and performance, as well as one of the best films of the year. It is a
strong contender for the Oscars in most major categories. It may not go by the
facts by it is still one damn good Hollywood drama. Oh and Ben you didn’t need
to show off your abs there… good job though.
5/5
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