Today I wanted to watch the Oscars ceremony live, but when that proved difficult I decided to go see Argo instead. How glad I now am to have seen it, knowing it won the 85th Oscar for Best Picture. I'm going to have to rethink my opinion of Ben Affleck (which was based mostly on vague memories of Bounce, and my addiction to Suri's Burn Book).
Argo is worthy of the praise it has gained. I enjoyed it immensely. It felt more mature than a lot of films I've seen lately. Mature in that it communicated an intricate story but without patronising the audience. I enjoyed that the dialogue often surrounded the point it was making, rather than hitting it directly. This provides much richer text for the actors to work with and rewards the viewer for connecting the dots. It is never exactly cryptic, but the story is allowed to tell itself and unfold without a sense of formula.
Although I did not grow very attached to any character, the cast is universally enjoyable, while the scenery is beautiful and the haircuts are hilarious! If I'd known about the haircuts I would have seen this film much earlier.
My one gripe is that some of the macho-talk in the CIA offices felt anachronistic. The high level of swearing felt out-of-character for men in such high office over 30 years ago. But I was not even alive then so my impression of the time and place may be unfounded. To clarify, I had no problem with the film executives swearing. That felt right.
See this film if you want to see an original story with slick production values, an understated approach to emotional content, and some mean haircuts.
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