Black Bag

by Julian Spivey

Photo: Focus Features

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett & Rege-Jean Page
Rated: R (language & some violence) 
Runtime: 1 hour & 34 minutes

 
Director Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag” is the kind of film they don’t make much anymore, and it’s a shame because there are plenty of us film-loving adults who still want to go to the local cinema to see a spy thriller that has nothing to do with I.P., knows exactly what it is, and has us in and out of the theater in a nice 94 minutes.
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Soderbergh still makes this kind of film, box office numbers be damned, and “Black Bag” is one of his best.

“Black Bag” opens immediately with our lead, George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender), a British intelligence officer who specializes in polygraph, given one week by a superior to determine the leak of a top-secret program known as Severus, which, if used, would result in thousands of civilian casualties. He’s given five names of people who may be the leaker, all of whom work closely with him, and one of which happens to be his wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett).

The other four potential traitors include his protégé James (Rege-Jean Page), the agency’s psychiatrist Zoe (Naomie Harris), imagery specialist Clarissa (Marisa Abela) and Freddie (Tom Burke). James and Zoe and Clarissa and Freddie are also couples.

George invites the four to his and Kathryn’s home for dinner, during which he plays mind games with the guests in hopes of figuring out who the traitor is. This dinner scene is absolutely riveting as we get to know all of these people's personalities and characters, with Clarissa and Freddie being a laugh riot due to terrific performances from Abela and Burke.

With its brisk runtime, there is no time to waste and no fat that needs trimming, and I can’t tell you how nice that is to see from a film coming off of Oscar season, where nearly every film felt longer than necessary.

Fassbender isn’t asked to do much as George, who is essentially a human lie detector. He’s a wooden personality, seemingly always focused on his job, and nothing seems to get past him. It’s not a knock on Fassbender’s capabilities, as he does exactly what the character and tight script from David Koepp ask of him.

Blanchett gets the flashier role of the two with Kathryn, who’s more the James Bond figure of the family, out in the field and getting flashier lines and scenes, like the showdown with Pierce Brosnan’s head of the agency.

Is there any actress today with more of a quintessential classic Hollywood look and feel than Blanchett?

If you’re into taut spy thrillers, you’ll like “Black Bag,” but it also works nicely as a relationship drama. Can George trust Kathryn and vice versa, and what role does honesty play in a marriage where both husband and wife are tasked with lying so often in their trade?

“Black Bag” is a terrific watch thanks to the fine and fun acting from its ensemble cast—again, Abela and Burke are true standouts—and a tightly wound but not too perplexing whodunnit.