BLACK BAG
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Starring Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Naomie Harris, Marisa Abela, Rege-Jean Page, Tom Burke, Kae Alexander, Gustaf Skarsgard, and Pierce Brosnan
Genre: Spy Thriller (Audio clip)
Soderbergh has done it again....and this time within a genre which has become just about as overdone and oversaturated as action movies about hit-men. :o Seriously it feels as if every other week, there's some new action comedy on Netflix and/or a new streaming series on Prime about.....SPIES! And they almost always seem to star some middle-aged former A-list movie star who expects you to believe that he's some mild-mannered dorky dad in the suburbs with a boring office job even though he has six-pack abs and manages to dazzle all of the neighbors with lavish barbecues which put Bobby Flay to shame. 🫣
This post-modern spy stuff felt KINDA fresh around thirty years ago with True Lies and was already starting to feel tired twenty years ago with the likes of Mr & Mrs Smith and Spy Kids.....and nowadays it just mostly feels STALE. 🙄 But here comes the Soderbergh-er (once again with ever-reliable writer David Koepp) to enliven it in theaters to make it feel fresh again! And he pulls it off with three S's: Sleek, Simple, and Sexy. ;) He also has a pitch-perfect cast stacked with veterans STILL at their peak (Fassbender, Blanchett), whip-smart up-and-comers (Rege-Jean Page, Marisa Abela) and hell....why not, even a couple of HOF alumni of the James Bond franchise (Brosnan, Naomie Harris)! It's a great blend of mostly UK talent (for a thriller set mostly in London) and they are each utilized very well for this twisty tale comprised of spy craft, office politics, and marriage...
Now to be fair, the overall premise and structure of the story is closer to John LeCarre than to Ian Fleming. This is very much an office (and apartment) based story almost entirely built upon in-person interactions between the major characters....probing questions, jokes, confessions, flirtations, tirades, pauses, glances, etc. It could ALMOST be a stage play yet the settings look varied and sometimes even glamorous enough to keep it all interesting. Soderbergh once again works as his own DP and also thanks to exemplary work from production designer Phillip Messina (The Hunger Games saga, Soderbergh's own Ocean's trilogy), this is very likely the director's most sumptuous/best-looking film since....Behind the Candelabra? 🤔 In fact, luxurious, window-filled, multi-level London apartment of the Woodhouses, George (Fassbender) and Kathryn (Blanchett) is kind of a character in itself as it utilized at key points in the story INCLUDING this film's dazzling opening sequence…which I’ll get to in just a bit….
The best performance is possibly Fassbender who is the closest this film has to a main protagonist....or IS he?? His George is absurdly buttoned-up, almost machine-like with how he approaches his job....very much in contrast to the brashness of his wife Katherine as played by Blanchett. And yet as the story progresses, we occasionally see more fear and paranoia creeping out through his face. It's not that far removed from the fantastic performance given by Fassbender just a couple of years ago (ironically playing a hitman) in David Fincher's The Killer....but with a few more layers added.
Farbeit from me to spoil that much of the actual plot but let's just say that it keeps you on your toes and ends in a satisfactory way. The film's limited scope and often chilly tone might not work for everyone but I just found it highly engaging and always entertaining.
Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):
The music for this film is interesting – it comes to us from long-time Soderbergh collaborator David Holmes – straight out of Belfast – who most notably delivered fun, breezy scores for his Ocean’s trilogy. He provided SUCH a signature jazz-infused sound for those films that they could be considered the regular soundtrack for heist movies in general.(Audio clip)
And the score for this film is even moodier, ambient at times using a lot of synthesizer but also a variety of instruments for percussion including rain stick, washboards, and snare drums. For the most part it works, definitely lending an aura of mystery….though there is SOME music which plays during one detour in Zurich which KINDA sounds like the background music for some 8-bit videogame. (Audio clip)
For me, the musical highlight comes from a more sinister piece of music we hear later in the film over a couple of key revelations which I would dare not spoil…ALL synth, almost with a more John Carpenter vibe which I like, definitely the most serious stuff we hear and it has the desired impact paired with what’s on screen. This track is called, “Puddy In Your Hands.” Hmmm…. (Audio clip)
Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):
This film opened last weekend to….an OK $7.5 million, eh not that bad until you realize that this thing cost around $50 million. And let’s be fair, tonier adult thrillers like this haven’t always been a sure thing at the box office….Cate Blanchett is also the closest this movie comes to having a box office draw and even her track record has been spotty at best….see last year’s sizeable flop Borderlands as an example…or to be fair, most folks didn’t.
Clearly not a great start but there is a SLIGHT possibility that this could leg it out a bit like last year’s – previous episode – Conclave which had a slightly smaller opening and eventually grossed around $100 million worldwide…on a smaller budget and also helped by getting tons of awards attention. And that’s the absolute BEST case scenario right now….WHY? Because overall, the film-going audience is just not showing up to see original mid-level genre films like these for ADULTS on a regular basis. Last year, I was gratified to see such films like Challengers and Civil War doing solid business but at the end of the day, movies like these are still making a fraction of whatever the latest bloated Marvel sequel makes on its opening weekend! And that’s just wrong.
I’m going to be like a broken record on this as I was for recent underperforming gems like Widows, Annihilation, or Bros….along with strong grown-up films which were relegated to streaming off the bat like Hit Man, The Good Nurse, or Soderbergh’s own Kimi. If we want movies like these to survive in the marketplace – if we WANT studios to back them and RELEASE them into theaters – we need to SUPPORT THEM! So do your part…ok I’ll get off of my soapbox.
Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):
As far as I’m concerned, the best scene is likely the FIRST scene, the LITERAL table-setter for the remainder of the film. You see the Woodhouses are both veteran intelligence agents working for the British government and after George has been informed that there might be a significant leak among those who work most closely with him (including his wife), he decides to have them all over for dinner one evening. The whole dinner is set up for him to "test" each individual to begin sussing out the truth. (Audio clip)
And off the bat, this sequence provides ample opportunity for everyone in the cast to shine from Abela's tempestuous tech specialist Clarissa to Harris' quizzical in-house therapist Dr. Zoe. All of the key players are revealed along with some hint of their motivations, as if this was the set-up for some Agatha Christie mystery. Fun, frothy stuff and the story just takes off from there....(Audio clip)
MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):
Honestly this film is a triumph for all involved. Blanchett’s glammed out appearance here and general breezy vibe is virtually antithetical to her LAST brilliant performance in previous episode Tar….and she dominates the screen JUST as much demonstrating once again how amazing her range is as one of our greatest living actresses. Since his apparent star-making performance on the first season of “Bridgerton,” a few years back, there’s been a TON of buzz on Rege-Jean Page as a new scorching screen presence and seeing him on-screen for the first time here playing Colonel James Stokes – with an equal mix of charm and menace – he did not disappoint. And I GOTTA say – having reviewed SO many films of his recently from his other recent collaboration with Soderbergh, this year’s Presence to The Shadow to Carlito’s Way…I almost always enjoy his writing but this is definitely one of David Koepp’s best and tightest screenplays. At the end of the day, it’s the ringmaster at the top of all of this also making it look SO good in the process….by delivering what I believe is his BEST overall film since 2011’s Contagion – within a completely different genre and different style no less – Steven Soderbergh is the MVP. (Audio clip)
Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
If you enjoy fun, twisty stories which look great on the big screen AND wrap up in ninety minutes…..then what are you waiting for? Skip that bloated crap on Netflix or Apple TV and SEE this movie!
Now Playing In Theaters
And that ends another SLEEK, SIMPLE, AND SEXY review!
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