A few weeks ago, the Oscars broadcast made a point to emphasize the magic that can happen when seeing movies in a theater. I see so many movies in theaters that I tend to not register it as the amazing experience it can be in and of itself, regardless of the film in question or the audience’s engagement. Director Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag brought me back in touch with the magic of the theater experience through its taut balance of intrigue, mystery, romance, and wry comedy. To feel the energy of a large crowd enjoying this kind of all-too-rare noir thriller with style and laughs to spare felt electric somehow. Jadedness cured!
Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett co-lead the film as married British spies. George (Fassbender) suspects Kathryn (Blanchett) of having an affair, but he also suspects she wouldn’t be so sloppy as to leave the key piece of evidence of this affair just lying around in their home. This leads him down a rabbit hole which ends up connecting to a conspiracy of overreach in a particular foreign conflict. Frequent Soderbergh collaborator David Koepp’s brilliant screenplay keeps us ever-so-slightly behind George’s solving of the puzzle while balancing screen time between George, Kathryn, and four of their co-workers, all of them suspicious in their own ways. It’s an incestuous group, and part of the humor of the film stems from these inter-office relationships. We’re introduced to these dynamics in an early dinner scene at George and Kathryn’s beautiful, mood-lit home. It’s all a bit heightened, but what fun film isn’t?
George seems innately suited to his job. He’s introduced as a smooth operator and a lover of interrogation; a fact-finder extraordinaire. The first and only time we see him lose his poker face is when he sees the truly terrifying unforeseen consequences of investigating his wife too much. The title of the film is a phrase all of these characters use to indicate that some piece of information is classified, even between romantic partners. Another strength of Koepp’s script is its willingness to put each of these main characters on trial by using that concept of privileged information. The suspicion pings from one person to the next as it entertainingly circles the drain to one of the best and funniest final mystery-solving scenes I’ve ever seen.
The four suspects are all standout actors. Moonlight’s Naomie Harris and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page play one of the two unmarried couples, she an in-house psychiatrist and he a Colonel. The scenes in Zoe’s (Harris) office are just crackling with wit and tension, especially when she meets with Kathryn. Industry’s Marisa Abela and Furiosa’s Tom Burke play a couple whom we believe to be more volatile, at least at the beginning. As Clarissa, one of the many techies in the office, Abela is absolutely sensational, especially as a foil to George’s steely determination. One of the best scenes in the film is a montage of various polygraph tests George gives to the four suspects, and it’s enthralling to watch Clarissa throw him off-balance. As the head of the agency they all work for, Pierce Brosnan gets to lean into the James Bond persona at least one last time, adding a nice garnish to an absolutely delicious meal.
I’ve been hot-and-cold on Soderbergh and Koepp’s collaborations in the past, really enjoying Kimi and pretty much detesting Presence. There is nothing detestable here in the slightest. Black Bag makes excellent use of an excellent cast, Soderbergh as both director and cinematographer sets the visual and tonal mood perfectly, and longtime Soderbergh collaborator David Holmes crafts a very memorable, subtly percussive score which sort of ties the whole film together. It all adds up to a terrific theatrical experience, and one which, at 94 minutes, gives us pretty much everything we want from a movie of its type in two-thirds the time most movies do it these days. Although I’d be just as happy for anyone to discover this film over any period of time, it deserves to be seen and enjoyed on the big screen. | George Napper
