Leave it to the multifaceted filmmaker Steven Soderbergh to make a thoughtful and pensive spy thriller that thrills while having something to say that is always bubbling beneath the surface. The director of Out of Sight, Sex, Lies, and Videotapes, and the Academy Award-winning film Traffic’s latest, Black Bag, is a sharp and engaging genre film with a license to thrill.
Black Bag explores power dynamics and existential themes in human relationships through a spy lens that is fun, sexy, and silky smooth—a thinking person’s popcorn film that has the common courtesy of allowing the viewer to catch up with the script, teaching up, not down, and never patronizing.
This is easily being Soderbergh’s most accessible movie since Ocean’s Eleven.
Black Bag Review and Synopsis
Working with a script from David Koepp (Spider-Man), Black Bag follows a married couple, Katheryn (Cate Blanchett) and George (X-Men’s Michael Fassbender), who put more faith and trust in their marriage than most. That’s because they are spies, choosing to live with the ambiguity of never knowing what the other is up to.
For example, if it is something they cannot discuss with one another, they say, ‘black bag,’ meaning it’s a secret they cannot share. However, George has a crisis of faith when he finds a movie stub in the waste basket. This leads to Kathryn being suspected of committing treason, possibly selling information to a Russian agent.
The movie opens with a stellar sequence in which George makes contact with Meacham (Gustaf Skarsgård), an asset who wants him to kill someone—and if George doesn’t, he could be responsible for the deaths of thousands. That’s when words become weapons, shot across the table like shards of searing hot glass. George arranges a dinner party with his wife and coworkers.
Black Bag is a Sexy and Fun Spy Thriller!
These distinguished guests include the agency’s shrink, Dr. Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris), who sleeps with one of her clients, James (Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page). Also joining the most uncomfortable gathering ever put together are Anna (Industry’s Marisa Abela) and her lover, Freddie (Tom Burke, a true chameleon), who loves to gaslight her whenever he gets a chance.
Soderberg has crafted a hypnotic and super cool spy thriller. Each word spoken means something, and the movie pays special attention to detail to reward the experience. Koepp’s script smartly adds fun spy tropes and gadgets, playful foreplay, and a sharp sense of humor with delightfully erudite dialogue.
Blanchett and Fassbender give great performances here, always in control, with icy veins that slowly begin to boil as the plot moves forward in surprising ways. This is a brilliant genre of filmmaking that never forgets to entertain while still allowing the viewer to ponder bigger, existential questions. That’s on top of being a delicious chess match of a whodunnit that never lets up from start to finish.
Is Black Bag Worth Watching?
Steven Soderbergh has crafted the year’s first great filmgoing experience. Stylish and remarkably self-assured, Black Bag is a masterful swing at mainstream cinema, packed with all the trademarks that have made him a cinematic legend for almost forty films.
I won’t sit here and tell you to see this film on the biggest screen possible like many do. Please spend your money and time as you see fit. However, something is intoxicating about the look, vibe, and music— all-encompassing how this filmmaker immerses his audience in an experience only he can craft.
Oh, what the hell— go to a theater and immerse yourself in the year’s smartest thriller.
You can watch Black Bag only in theaters March 14th!
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