How does a relationship last? This is a question that has plagued smarter men than myself. Marriages are tougher. You promise to stick it out through thick and thin. Then there’s the needling and bickering; the yearning for your own individuality while maintaining a unit. And don’t get me started on how to hang the toilet paper roll. (It is over the roll, welcome to my Ted Talk). However, what if your respected jobs require discretion and even a bit of duplicity?
Enter Kathryn and George, the spies and spouses at the heart of Steven Soderbergh’s latest Black Bag. And let’s just say welcome back Steven. Not so often do you get two good movies from the same creative team in one year. Lately, you are lucky to get even one. Hot on the heals of January release Presence (see previous review from February 13), he returns with writer David Koepp for a different kind of slow burn thriller. As we follow George (played by Michael Fassbinder) through a club, we get a subtle nod in the camera work toward their last outing. But by the end, we are in a different world, as a fellow spy informs George of a heinous act of thievery that has perpetuated on their agency. A dangerous item has been stolen by someone on their side and George is tasked at flushing out the traitor. Some early signs point to his wife Kathryn (played by Cate Blanchett). And now the game begins.
During a casual dinner at their residence, friends and work colleagues are invited for a seemingly innocuous night of frivolity. Through George’s keen observations, he is honing in on their strength and weaknesses. Is this person in front of me capable of the deception that would jeopardize the agency? But just him and Kathryn, those around the table are couples embroiled in their own mini game of cat of mouse with each other. The lies and deceit don’t just end when they clock out; the office is never left at the office. They sit at a dining table with orbs of light shining up into them like a bare bulb interrogation.
I am glad to see director Steven working with this kind of cinematic chiaroscuro not seen since the Ocean’s trilogy. It is featured in scenes throughout, but are most effective here. These guests are being grilled even though they are completely unawares. The streets lamp send auras out as Kathryn strolls a rain slick avenue. Defuse club lights flank George’s journey in the beginning. But this lighting is most striking in the main couple’s tender moments. Never has an espionage film been so sexy without ever showing a hint of the act or nudity. Where gratuity would be par for the course, the steamy chaste nature of these conversations and interactions become downright explicit. A simple chat about spy craft becomes foreplay.
In casting that may seem like stunt, Pierce Brosnan shows up as the boss as well as former Moneypenny Naomie Harris as the agency’s physiologist. Humorous to see two Bond alumni showing up in a film that couldn’t be less so. Fassbender’s look evokes John le Carré’s Smiley more than 007. Rounding out the cast is Rege-Jean Page of Bridgerton fame, Tom Burke from HBO’s C.B “Strike,” and Industry’s Marisa Abela. All keen to show who has the quicker wits in both profession and personal life. But as the ninety-three minute run time winds down, couples will end and others will flourish. And question still remains: how does the perfect relationship work? With patience and a little bit of communication; even the most iron-clad operative can be a successful husband, wife, lover. Just don’t bring unnecessary baggage into the equation. And, possibly, leave your firearms at the door.
