The decision between renting and buying a DVD comes down to a question of whether or not you’ll watch a film only once or a fair few times. A lot of the time this is judged on personal taste and for the Oscar winning surprise hit Argo the people that will fall most on the buying side of the equation will be the type of people that appreciate a great story, immersive construction, strong dialogue and a triumphant delivery.
It’s the kind of film that will remind you that when everything around you is crumbling there’s always a route out of the mess; you just need to find it and go for it. It’s also a great example of how attention to detail and cinematography can make a film shine without being a glitzy extravaganza or CGI infused overlay of an otherwise uninspiring plot.
What that leaves is a film that brilliantly tells the true story of the events that overran the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 in a way that makes you feel like you’ve been hurled back in time to the tense late 70s following the end of the Iranian Revolution. The characters and sets feel like they’ve literally been sent from the past, making it a gripping recreation of the story.
Argo is fundamentally a historical drama that retraces the events surrounding a mission set up by the CIA to rescue six embassy staff that managed to escape the siege on the United States’ Tehran embassy in November 1979. Infuriated by the US granting asylum to the ousted former ruler of the country, Shah Mohammad Rezā Pahlavi, the revolutionaries storm the building taking the majority of the workers hostage, but leaving just enough time for the small group of six staff to escape through the back door.
When CIA agent, Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), is brought in on the mission to save them, his crazy idea of setting up a movie shoot in Tehran for an invented sci-fi film called Argo to act as a decoy to get the six out of the country becomes the only workable plan they can find. What follows is the tense deployment of the hair brained scheme in the high pressure stakes on Iranian soil to get the embassy workers briefed on their new Canadian film crew credentials and onto a plane out of danger.
Surprisingly, Ben Affleck takes to the central role in the film incredibly well. He’s contained and efficient in his recreation of the character, with what must have been great direction from himself, to add even more credit to the performance. He’s also one of the producers for the film, teaming up with George Clooney and Grant Hezlov (The Men Who Stare at Goats).
Affleck’s efforts are added to by John Goodman who plays make-up artist, John Chambers, helping Mendez construct the Hollywood story of the fake film. However, every role is perfectly weighted, whether it’s any one of the tense escapees, the angry masses at the bazaar or the Iranian guards at the airport.
Argo has little elements of comedy, drama, action and political thriller to create a feeling of reality around the film. The fact that the events actually took place definitely adds to the momentous feel of the ordeal, but even if it were a work of fiction it would still feel incredibly convincing thanks to a faultless cast, screen-play, costume and set construction. Even if you’re not the kind of person that would add the Argo DVD to your collection, it’s definitely worth watching at least once.
Argo DVD review: 4.6/5
The DVD also comes with a special feature with the real Tony Mendez, Jimmy Carter and the six “film crew” escapees discussing the real life equivalent to the movie.
