ARGO Really Is as Good as They Say

If you're already bored by eating and shopping, and you're looking to do something else with what's left of your Thanksgiving break, the movie Argo may just be the answer. Who doesn't need to fight those tryptophans and keep the ol' brain working?

Argo is a Ben Affleck project, with Mr. Affleck directing and starring in this "based on true events" trip back to the late 70s. No, he doesn't look like Tony Mendez, the real CIA master-of-disguise/"extraction" expert he portrays, the hero behind a secret, dangerous and very creative mission to get six U.S. embassy employees out of Iran. Those six had managed to slip out of the embassy as Iranian militants seized the place and took everybody still there hostage. Once out, the six found sanctuary in the basement of the Canadian embassy, but that wasn't safe, either, and the CIA knew they had to find a way to sneak them out of Iran completely. But how?

Poster for the fake Argo movie.

Mendez's plan was to pretend that a campy science fiction movie was being made, complete with storyboards and posters and ads in the trades, and then get to Iran to pretend to scout for locations for the fake movie. He came up with identities (and Canadian passports) for the six Americans, so that they could pose as his fake Canadian film crew and leave Iran when he did. It sounds crazy and impossible. And yet that's exactly what happened in 1979. The true story of the CIA's involvement was classified for years after the operation, and a cover story, that the escape had all been the work of friendly Canadians, was promoted. There was even a Canadian TV movie telling that tale in 1981.

If Affleck doesn't look like Mendez, he has the untidy hair and beard to look decidedly 70s-ish, and it's clear that somebody made a concerted effort to find actors who resembled the other historical personages in the story. We get to see all the real people at the end, with their photos compared to the actors who've played them. Those actors include Christopher Denham, a U of I grad who played a lot of roles onstage at Krannert Center, including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, as Mark Lijek, one of the American diplomatic personnel shepherded out by Mendez.

Seeing this kind of movie is weird if you lived through those times. And, yes, I was there in the 70s. Yes, I remember the Iranian hostage crisis that Argo centers on. I remember going to the courthouse with a friend to finalize her divorce in January, 1981, and seeing a sign that said "Free at last!" outside the courthouse, as the people at the mall next door celebrated the end of the long hostage ordeal by putting letters up on their marquee. I remember that my friend started to laugh at that "Free at last!" sign and how appropriate it was for her own situation.

Hamilton Jordan

Kyle Chandler

I also remember Hamilton Jordan, adviser to Jimmy Carter, although I've certainly never considered whether he resembled Kyle Chandler, who plays Jordan in the movie. There are so many good actors peppered through Argo that you have to work hard not to call out, "Oooh, John Goodman! Alan Arkin! Bryan Cranston! Victor Garber! Zeljko Ivanek! Richard Kind! Richard Dillane! Titus Welliver! Phillip Baker Hall!" as they roll past.

Better to fall into the movie's world and forget you recognize all those faces. Because the story is plenty gripping and suspenseful without Hey, It's That Guy! games.

It doesn't matter if you remember how the real plot turned out or even if you're aware in what respects the movie veers away from the facts. You'll still be biting your nails, desperate to know if these six regular joes can get to the airport and out of Iran before anybody figures out who they are and where they are.

Affleck has crafted a jittery, nervy film, fast enough and skillful enough to pull you along, set up the dominoes and knock them all down, with just enough humor on the Hollywood side of the equation to make sure the story never lags. Goodman and Arkin are great as the makeup artist and producer who collaborate on the fictional movie, and I won't be surprised if Arkin nabs another Oscar for his role.

I also liked Denham, Clea DuVall, who plays his wife, and an up-and-comer named Scoot McNairy as the least obliging of the captives.

Argo is based on a real story, of course, as told by Joshua Bearman in Wired magazine. Some of the details were modified by screenwriter Chris Terrio to make a better script, but the real deal is pretty entertaining. If you want to read more about it after seeing the movie, just click on the link earlier in this paragraph. Bearman's piece is terrific.

Oscar's Best Pics: "The Artist"

"The Artist" took its sweet time getting anywhere but the largest cities, even after boatloads of acclaim and critical enthusiasm. But here it is, now showing in Everywhere USA, which means that more than just the critics and film festival audiences have a chance to see it before the Oscars. The question is, will more than just the critics and film festival audiences develop the same major crush on "The Artist"?

"The Artist," like "Hugo," takes a look at the history of the movies, asking today's moviegoers, bred on boy wizards, vampire love, battles of large blue aliens, gunfire, crashes, smashes and spectacular explosions, to experience a kind of film that is long gone. In "The Artist," it's the silent film. And what sets "The Artist" apart, what made it such a favorite in Cannes, where it premiered, is that director Michel Hazanavicius really did create a silent film. Yes, it's an homage, but not just an homage to silent films. Not a send-up ("Silent Movie"). Not a singing ("Singing in the Rain") or talking ("Sunset Boulevard") movie about how the talkies treated silent film stars.

Nope. "The Artist" really is (with a few tiny exceptions that only add to its charm) a silent film, with actors who emote with their faces instead of their voices, accompanied by the occasional dialogue card. That may be hard for today's audiences to get into, and it's tough for a movie like this to play at the multiplex alongside shouty, noisy action pictures with explosions and gunfire every two seconds. That's probably why it hasn't and probably never will be a box office bonanza.

But the way the story in "The Artist" is told is perfect for its subject matter. And it's fun and sweet and effervescent enough to be completely entertaining and kind of adorable if you're the kind of viewer who can leap over the silent threshold and give it a chance.

"The Artist" centers on a dashing silent film star, one George Valentin, winningly played by French actor Jean Dujardin as a Douglas Fairbanks style adventure hero with a John Gilbert twist. Valentin has the world at his feet as long as the movies stay silent. At a premiere, he meets a fizzy young thing named Peppy Miller (played by Bérénice Bejo) who wants to make it in the movies, and he gives her a helping hand. But then the movies start to talk, which doesn't interest George in the least. Peppy and her flapper persona are perfect for talking pictures. But George is not. As her fortunes soar, his take a major dive.

It's the old "A Star Is Born" trajectory, told with impeccable style and a wonderful cast of character actors, from James Cromwell as Valentin's faithful chauffeur to John Goodman as a bombastic studio chief, Beth Grant and Ed Lauter as Peppy's household staff, and Joel Murray as a friendly policeman. I wasn't as fond of Penelope Ann Miller, all platinum hair and sour facial expressions, as George's unhappy wife. She seemed much too old to be a suitable candidate for Dujardin's matinee idol to be married to. Sure, Clark Gable came to Hollywood with a much-older wife, but he didn't keep her once his screen persona was established. It just seems odd for toast-of-the-town George not to have acquired a young, beautiful wife to splash all over the movie mags, especially since this one clearly hates him. (The fact that she spends her time drawing mustaches and devil horns on all of his pictures in those movie mags is a nice touch, however.)

I also wondered if there was a Penelope Miller/Peppy Miller connection. Coincidence? If not, what does it mean? Penelope Ann Miller was never that peppy, was she?

The other supporting actor who really makes an impact is Uggie, the bouncy terrier who plays George's frequent co-star and real-life best pal. Uggie is irresistible and cute as a button throughout. I have to think the success of the movie is about 40% Uggie, with Jean Dujardin a solid 50%.

That's not to say that director/screenwriter Hazanavicius didn't do a bang-up job. He did. Everything is stylish and joyful and very, very nicely accomplished. Hazanavicius's love of old movies and silent film stars is apparent, and he definitely gives them their due. But I still think the infectious charm in Dujardin's performance (and in Uggie's) raises "The Artist" to a different level. It makes it seem like a bigger movie than it really is.

It's fine by me that it's not an Oscar-style epic, by the way. My taste tends to run to exactly this kind of small, sweet movie. I'm a little surprised it's getting so many awards tossed at it, though. What's great about "The Artist" is that it does its job perfectly, that it hits the target it aims at, and it does it all without hitting you over the head or shouting at you with its message.

I still think "Hugo" is the best movie of the year. That doesn't stop me from having an affair with "The Artist" on the side, however.