Director Steven Soderbergh has an eye for making his characters fly suspiciously below the radar. He has a sense of direction that sends off vibes that allow audiences to know there is an operation that does not make sense. He has done this successfully with his films ranging from Sex, Lies, and Videotape to Erin Brockovich to Solaris to Contagion to Presence. The major difference is that Black Bag centers around espionage—which adds a layer of confidentiality to its writing. There are moments of vividness in this film, but the pacing tends to fall off the tracks in some parts.
Black Bag centers around the core theme of betrayal mingled with loyalty and deception. The film focuses on Kathryn St. Jean (played by Cate Blanchett), an undercover agent. Her husband is George Woodhouse (played by Michael Fassbender), an agent as well. There is a sense of a nation at risk due to dishonesty involving the spy tactics of Kathryn and George. However, the picture is painted showing Kathryn as the one making the matter seem harmful. The other characters involved are Clarissa DuBose (played by Marisa Abela), Freddie Smalls (played by Tom Burke), Dr. Zoe Vaughan (played by Naomie Harris), Col. James Stokes (played by Rege-Jean Page), and Arthur Stieglitz (played by Pierce Brosnan). All these characters are key to the film’s primary puzzle. The cat-and-mouse game approach proceeds along a professional track. To clarify, there are no haunting surprises or outbursts of truth. Neither would be the style I would expect from Soderbergh.
The film labels Arthur as the superior of the spy operations. With George and Kathryn as husband and wife, the curiosity related to who they trust and can communicate with provides on going questions. Some moments one seems more trustworthy than the other. Audiences will want to focus on the personalities and tactics of everyone involved—that is the key to the film’s underlying pattern. In retrospect, there is the fear of something to lose which is the subject of the breach. To some extent, the story keeps trying to cover up the answers through the characters’ egos and professional backgrounds. The two-faced dynamics that every character possesses offers additional lines of questioning in Black Bag.
As someone who has always been fascinated by Soderbergh, I was pleased with the calculation of focus in this film. Unfortunately, the methods of execution and ultimate resolutions led me into a state of disarray. Even though many moments are quirky and slow as expected, there is no proper meaning to the conclusion. It is almost like a more serious version of 12 Angry Men. The primary differences are the people and their jobs which cause lingering issues with the level of trust. At various points I had the notion that I was going to figure out that everyone is at fault—which is not the case. The dynamics of this film had me sold, however its subtle approach is written in a way that felt dry. Overall, it is a fun Soderbergh flick with plenty of interesting scenes. Two-and-a-half out of four stars.
Movies with Tarek 