Somewhat to my surprise, former blockbuster star and celebrated Masshole
Ben Affleck has become one of my favourite directors as of late. His 2007
debut, an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s mystery novel Gone Baby Gone, was a disturbing and thought-provoking work that
felt like the product of an experienced director rather than one behind a
feature film camera for the first time. And I have nothing but good things to
say about The Town, a robbery
thriller that, while seemingly Michael Mann’s Heat set in Boston, stood out by turning an analytical eye on the
importance of one’s roots and cultural identity.
Needless to say, I eagerly awaited Argo,
Affleck’s depiction of the so-called 1980 “Canadian Caper” that saw a joint
Canadian-American intelligence collaboration secret six American Foreign Service
employees out of revolution-torn Iran during the infamous hostage crisis of
that era. And while it certainly takes liberties with the facts, I’m happy to
say that Ben Affleck’s third directorial outing is up to the high standards set
by his first two.
