BLACK BAG – Review by T.J. Callahan
Black Bag: Something’s are best kept under the rug.
If you are looking for a liar, just spike the Chana Masala. In Black Bag, that’s how a legendary intelligence agent tries to ferret out a mole within the bureau. By inviting the prime suspects to a dinner party like an Agatha Christie mystery, he’s sure one will speak the truth. But what if the traitor turns out to be his Mata Hari wife?
The title of this Steven Soderbergh thriller refers to where highly classified information is kept. Intel that it is so sensitive it’s not to be shared, even among married co-workers. But Black Bag can also be used as a code word for other possible infidelities making us never totally sure what our Spy vs Spy couple is up to.
That couple in question is George and Kathryn, played intriguingly by Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett. Fassbender being the meticulous and precise man of few words. His actions speak louder than his dry delivery. Blanchett is deviously smart and sly, gleaning her information with a flirty, sensual banter. They’d kill for each other. Making Black Bag not just a gripping drama, but a marriage story.
David Koepp’s clever script with Soderbergh’s direction gives off an air of old Hollywood espionage set in modern times. The supporting cast, including Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page and Pierce Brosnan, are all uniquely loathsome and properly suspicious, keeping the audience engrossed from the get go.
Black Bag is one week in the lives of matrimonial masterminds who are trying to solve a who done it that no one is really sure who did it. Spilled nuclear secrets must be cleaned up before the marriage melts down. Black Bag packs a lot into its 90 minute run time and it’s a perfect fit rating an 8 on the TeejFlixometer.
