Argo Film Review

Argo

"Tense, thrilling and action packed" 

Argo -released October 2012- was produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Ben Affleck (who also Directed and starred in the movie himself). 

As well as Ben Affleck the movie features: John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston and many more stars who help to bring together an epic, thrilling, tense action packed movie.

Argo is based on real life events. The film uses clever cinematography and mise-en-scene to create the real life gripping tale of a group of US embassy workers who are not able to escape Iran. The hostile and violent protests by Islamist militants make the 6 Americans trapped as hostages. 

Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) the CIA operative makes it his mission to bring the American hostages back safely from Iran by posing as a canadian film crew and creating a fake movie Argo. The plot is emotionally gripping and is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. 

So, if you like fast paced action packed films then this is the film for you. Argo is based on real life political events tied together with action, elements of comedy within the Hollywood scenes. 

The opening of the film really brings across the context of the real life events the film was based on. The Iranians start riots and cause 6 members of the American embassy to become hostages trapped in the country. Knowing that it is only a matter of time before the Americans get found out, CIA specialist (Ben Affleck) Tony Mendez comes up with a far fetch and incredibly risky plan to flee them from the country. Doing so undercover as a Canadian film crew. Scenes of the film persist of America and Iran. Hollywood is the uplift that a film with such a tense story line needs. Without Hollywood the film would be far too heavy and chaotic for anyone to be able to enjoyably follow. John Goodman and Alan Arkin play excellent roles and bring a comic effect to the film, especially with the 'Argo fuck yourself'.

The camera work and mise-en-scene used helped to bring a realistic feel to the film. When set in Iran, the camera work is shaky and unsteady. It makes the audience feel as though they are caught up in the chaos. The unsteady cinematography and grainy footage cause to audience to also, become unsteady. This helps to keep the audience on edge and tense. It helps to make the film become far more realistic and reminds the audience that the film is based on a true story. In the opening scenes this is apparent. As well as the camera work the sounds used when set in Iran give off an uneasy feel. The loud rioting mob inject panic into the audience and confusion as the Iranians are not speaking English. The American embassy created some brilliant and convincing acting from inside the building while the mob was outside. Seeing these scenes make the audience attached to the characters and this makes it even more thrilling and tense in the escaping scenes. The scenes featured in Iran keep the audience on their toes and the scenes pose an unsafe atmosphere.

However, the audience get to escape all the chaos to the 'safe zone' an area which projects happiness and safety. The micro ( editorial , sound , camerawork ) used in the Hollywood scenes is the complete opposite to the micro used in the scenes set in Iran. When in  Hollywood the actors used - John Goodman and Alan Arkin- are very uplifting. Great performances from these actors help to keep the film entertaining and bring the audience away from all the danger to the comic, far fetch story line. The mise-en-scene used in Hollywood also help to create this 'safe zone'. Like most comedy or light hearted movies, the camera work remains steady and brightly coloured. The sounds used in these scenes are familiar to the audience (car horns, busy crowds, directors shouting) and nothing like the uneasy use of sound in Iran. Including Hollywood to the dialogue not only gave the audience the safe zone which is much needed in an action packed movie like Argo but also helped to attract a wider range of audience to the movie. Itself, Argo has so many different genres and aspects the target audience is fairly wide. Just add in a few love scenes and pretty much everyone would have been happy!

The American CIA scenes contain camera work which is much darker and dimmer than that which is used in the Hollywood scenes. This is because the audience is not supposed to feel uplifted and this point in the movie. The scenes are much more fast pace and the audience is back on their toes with worry. Although the worry is not as evident in these scenes as it is in Iran. The audience is familiar with America and therefore feels safer in these scenes than in the scenes based in Iran. The camera work is similar to the likes of the Iranian scenes. However, there is no unsteady camera work and the editorial content is much less grainy and feels 'cleaner' and brighter.

As events unfold , the film comes to a pleasant ending. This comes after the over dramatic  final scenes of the hostages fleeing the country aboard Sweedish Airlines. Perhaps these scenes are too melodramatic that it loses the credibility to the fact that this film was supposed to be based on a true story. 

The plot is also insulting to the british. It took less than 5 minutes of research to discover that New Zealand and British diplomats did NOT turn away the American hostages. However this was stated in a scene of the film. The hostages actually stayed at a british house after then moving to the Canadians after Iranian policemen became suspicious. I know that the film stated 'based' on a true story and it is expected that the movie wont follow every true aspect of the event. However, this causes the film to lose credibility and insults the British with the lies in history. After critically analyzing the scene it then became evident that throughout the film Americans are backed up to look like heroes and it then angered me.

It isn't just the British who could potentially be insulted by Argo. The portrayal of the Islamic Republics 1979 revolution caused Tehran to plan to file a lawsuit. Iranian authorities were insulted over the 'unrealistic' portrayal of the country. Although the filming was not done in Iran the camera work and editing helped the audience feel as though they are in Iran. The dirty feel of the atmosphere and the rioting locals caused the Iranian authorities to become insulted. After reading about this law suit , I decided to watch a scene again. When Tony Mendez and the hostages roam the streets, the Iranian people become angered, rude and extremely loud. I agree, this may be insulting to some Iranians and Argo became known-in iran- 'The Hoax of Hollywood'.

Although the film had technical credibility issues it was still enjoyable and caused an emotional response while watching it. The problems I have with the film mentioned above, help to add thrill to the movie and make it more enjoyable to the audience.

Argos story line/plot provoked emotional responses. I found myself feeling uplifted in the Hollywood scenes yet anxious and unsafe in the Iran scenes which featured the America hostages. The film is definitely 'butt clenching' and 'heart racing', especially in the final scenes. After watching the events unfold the characters-especially the hostages- become more and more familiar and the audience can build a bond with the characters as if we are there ourselves. I found myself overwhelmed with happiness and relief as the hostages are safe again. After the entire car screeching and the tense background music the tension was built to a new high. 

The moment which created the biggest emotional response was as the plane was in the air and the hostess announces that Iranian land is cleared. The music and sounds used help to create overwhelming happiness and the proud accomplishments of Tony Mendez become apparent and this bought a tear to my eye. The slow emotional soundtrack helps to provoke a response like this.

The unique selling points of Argo were that it was based on real life events and this is fairly true other than the credibility points previously mentioned. Ben Affleck almost became a marketing technique in himself being director and main character Tony Mendez for the movie. The top actors and actresses help to market the movie and maybe this causes it to be over praised because of this. The trailer wasn't an accurate representation of the movie as it seemed a lot faster and action packed than it actually is in the movie itself. I felt the best parts of Argo were given away in the trailer.