Argo (2012)

A rare treat of a thriller that excites without the use of special effects, "Argo" embraces the cliche "edge-of-your-seat" and turns it into two hours of film-viewing reality.

The third film in an increasingly-confident directorial portfolio by Oscar-winning screenwriter and popular actor Ben Affleck, "Argo" is funnier than audiences might expect, as wonderfully acted as one could hope for, and more tense than you can imagine. It also boasts a story of more than slight ridiculousness. Implausible, really, if only it weren't true.

On Nov. 4, 1979, the U.S. embassy in Iran is sieged by revolutionaries. Six Americans working at the embassy manage to escape and seek shelter in the Canadian embassy.

Against the backdrop of President Carter's tentative handling of the Iran crisis, in walks Tony Mendez (Affleck), a CIA employee with a track record for rescuing people out of the most precarious of situations. With little time to come up with a plan to rescue the Americans, not to mention decreasing support from the White House and a CIA chief played by Bryan Cranston, Mendez concocts a ridiculous escape plan, one that he couldn't be more serious in proposing.

With the help of Hollywood producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and a makeup artist named John Chambers (John Goodman), Mendez procures an unproduced film script called "Argo," a science fiction B-grade film. Mendez believes that he could fly into Iran posing as a film producer scouting for desert locations to shoot scenes for "Argo" and, in the process, can reach the Canadian embassy and sneak the self-imprisoned Americans out by training them to assume identities as members of his filming crew.

Naturally, the idea is ridiculous, yet with a little push, Mendez pursues it anyway. He relies on the razzle-dazzle international image of Hollywood to at least temporarily win over skeptical Iranian soldiers he encounters along the way, sometimes even handing them doctored film posters which they accept like prized souvenirs. He makes it to the Canadian embassy and, under the protection of its kindhearted ambassador (Victor Garber), fights with the Americans to convince them that his insane idea is the only way out.

Again, this really happened. "Based on a true story." And one of the best things about "Argo" in a sea of great things is the way Affleck meticulously recreates the time period. Heading into 1980, Affleck populates "Argo" with stock footage of Carter on the television, porn-star mustaches, feathered hair, brown clothes, wide collars and boxy glasses. Almost to a detail, everything looks just as it should be, just as it might have happened. It isn't hard to imagine the film's art direction as first in line when the film awaits its inevitable award nominations this winter.

There's a chance the acting won't be overlooked, either. In fact, it's fantastic from top to bottom. As Mendez, Affleck gives his richest performance in quite some time. Arkin smaller but instrumental role as the film producer could end up getting him his first nomination since winning supporting actor for "Little Miss Sunshine." Goodman, scarily bloated and unhealthy-looking, is dryly funny and calmly wise in a film filled with panic. Garber and Cranston are, each in his own way, riveting. Kyle Chandler is effective as the secretary of defense, and dammit, Chris Messina delivers here in a way that reaffirms that he deserves to be a star.

Aside from the production values and the acting, the most memorable thing about "Argo" is its intensity, and Affleck knows just how to make a heart beat so strongly that it seems ready to leap from one's chest, only to ebb the intensity and then gradually build it minutes later to an eclipsing height. The palpable thrill of watching "Argo" is certainly what every horror film director longs to achieve and rarely manages, and though Affleck frequently overplays the use of extreme close-up shots to signal intensity, he succeeds wildly when it comes to thrills.

If there's a drawback to "Argo" - the slightest hint of imperfection - it comes with the realization that as a director, Affleck does little to demonstrate any calling cards of an authorial style. After his first two films used Boston as a backdrop the way Woody Allen used New York City, Affleck began to carve a signature niche for himself in just two films. "Argo" shares in common with both "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Town" a sense of capturing action and tense suspense in a way that makes it palpable to the audience, and that's a good thing.

But aside from the plentiful satisfaction that "Argo" is expertly handled by a crowd-pleaser of a director, there's little in its style to make someone say: "This is a Ben Affleck film." Those who are not snobby about their films will have no problem with this fact, of course. And someone like me, so excited about Affleck's growing confidence behind the lens with his third-consecutive Oscar-quality film, is now looking for a signature stamp. I wouldn't say it's here, yet. But what is here is enough confidence to indicate that Affleck is starting to figure out just who he is as a director.

If "Argo" is any indication, watching Affleck figure himself out will be our pleasure.

★ ★ ★ 1/2