Black Bag is almost too clever for its own good.
Scriptwriter David Koepp spent time with real spies, agents and operatives to write his spy thriller.
As a script it is filled with witticisms teasing the brain, occasionally causing a smile to break upon one’s lips. However, as a screenplay it is relatively dull and lifeless, leading to examining the insides of one’s eyelids.
Back in 1927 when the sound barrier was broken by Warner Bros’ The Jazz Singer, some studio heads debunked the new technology suggesting that every film, henceforth, would be talk, talk, talk and no action. Most films released after 1929 had both sound and action.
Not so with Black Bag.
It is all jibber jabber with nary a sequence of action, save the explosion of a vehicle by a drone.
My memory suggests it was shown sans sound effects with, instead, a talk-over sequence. We missed hearing the boom.
The cerebral script is a gem of obscure cyber-speak which would work extremely well as a full-fledged theatre production with Italian opera sub-titles, perhaps in a small venue as an intimately-presented play.
In fact, this script could be an ideal radio play, if such a market exists. Of course, an audio-book.
The film boasts a great cast. Every actor commands attention with their handling of complex dialogue, but I would find great delight in the movie’s blooper reel.
Intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse (Cate Blanchett) is suspected of betraying the nation.
Her husband George (Micheal Fassbinder, and, yes, that’s how he spells his given name), a legendary agent, is tasked with outing the traitor among a cabal of spies who’ve worked together substantially.
Question: Would MI5 allow a married couple to serve in the same crucial department with access to highly sensitive data? Maybe not.
The sophisticated well-off spies are attractive, thin, well-dressed, and apparently well-heeled.
The most effective spies often manage to be ordinary and blend in as an everyday man.
The stakes are high when security around a software program called Severus faces falling into enemy hands and a possible nuclear catastrophe.
What sense, therefore, can be made of Severus forcing the removal of a Russian dictator… really?
Unfortunately, George has no choice but to focus on his wife Kathryn as a possible turncoat.
George Woodhouse meets his ultimate test whether to be faithful to his marriage or his country.
It is fascinating to note that two supporting characters are alumni from the official James Bond spy series. Psychiatrist Dr Zoe Vaughn (Naomi Harris) is conducting one-on-one sessions with Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page): Harris portrayed Eve Moneypenny in Skyfall (2012) and Spectre 2015).
Arthur Stieglitz (Pierce Brosnan) is boss of the agents group, but his menace subverts his portrayal of one of the best known fictional spies, Agent 007, Bond, James Bond in Golden Eye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002).
Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke) and Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela) are strong characters within the ring and neither should be overlooked.
For George, working to expose the double-crosser, the Agatha Christie adage applies: Everyone’s guilty until proven innocent.
Don’t expect James Bond stunts or Jason Bourne-like action sequences. This is a “talkie” where you have to listen to dialogue and follow its ramifications.
By the way, the black bag of the title isn’t anything physical. It is spy talk for… listen to Blanchett’s Kathryn responding to a question from hubby George, then… refer back to this review’s headline.
Movie: Black Bag
Duration: 93 mins
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Micheal Fassbinder, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke, Regé-Jean Page, Pierce Brosnan
Rating: ***
Reviewed by Lawrenty
