Just under a decade ago, it seemed that it was nearing the end for Ben Affleck. Having climbed to immediate fame with an Oscar win for the script to Good Will Hunting and engaging performances in the films of Kevin Smith, Affleck appeared in several critical flops that tarnished the golden boy image. The most notable examples were Michael Bay’s excruciatingly saccharine war drama Pearl Harbour and the tonally misjudged crime comedy Gigli which occurred at the same time he found himself caught up in the hysterically inane media frenzy referred to as ‘Bennifer’. It seemed that the talent had been squandered and it was only a matter of time before he was swallowed up by obscurity, another casualty on Hollywood’s walk of fame. But some refuse to go down without a fight and over the last few years Affleck has slowly been building up his resume as not just an excellent actor but a filmmaker. His 2007 debut Gone Baby Gone won critical acclaim and the follow up The Town proved to be a solid if unremarkable effort that performed well with audiences. Affleck showcased an unfussy, clear and stark directorial style that convinced many that his future now lay behind the camera rather in front of it. Now he stars in and directs a new project that both (cautiously) bites the Hollywood hand that feeds but also offers up a true story that seems so unbelievable upon first listen but proves to be a fruitful subject for a thriller.

In 1979, the American embassy in Tehran was overrun by revolutionaries furious that America had given sanctuary to the recently exiled Shah. Over fifty American diplomats and military personal were taken hostage in a crisis that lasted over a year and saw a collapse in diplomatic relations between America and Iran and left geopolitical aftershocks that can still be felt today. The crisis itself kept the nation on tenterhooks yet the story here concerns something not made public at the time. Six Americans managed to escape the embassy before its downfall and took refuge at the Canadian ambassador’s residence. Realizing that their discovery would result in capture and possible death, the CIA struggled to come up with a plan to get them out of the country safely. This where Tony Mendez (Affleck) comes into the story. Having exhausted all other ideas, Mendez proposes an idea as bizarre as it is dangerous; they will pass the six off as a Canadian film crew scouting ‘exotic locations’ for a science fiction B-Movie called Argo including setting up a fake production company and a script to make the ruse as believable as possible.

From the opening shot of the classic seventies Warner Bros logo and through its tense, frenetic opening act it’s clear that Affleck has done his homework. Handheld cameras, saturated filters and even replicated scratches on the digital print all combine to make Argo appear to be a genuine political thriller made in the era of its setting. There’s a visual tone and atmosphere that recalls the likes of All The President’s Men and The Parallax View though certainly not without its own visual sheen that thankfully never becomes to on the nose. Affleck’s proven he’s got the gritty chops in his previous endeavours but what really impresses in this latest outing is his control over the tone of the story. It’s a work which crosses over the line between humorous incredulity and genuine life or death tension. The first half of the film is filled out with Mendez’s exploits in Hollywood as he recruits Oscar winning makeup artist John Chambers (John Goodman) and producer Lester Siegel (a scene stealing Alan Arkin) to painstakingly set up a production they have no intention of making. As Chambers puts to Mendez, ‘You want to come to Hollywood, flash some money and not do anything? You’ll fit right in!’ It’s playful, light satire that doesn’t stray into the more cynical depictions of Tinseltown we’ve seen in the past but it provides a sharp relief from the darker tones of the drama. Thankfully there is no awkward transition; when Mendez heads out to Iran the tone of tension and claustrophobia is simply unrelenting. Narrative events clearly drift into dramatic license toward its final set piece but when the execution is this good then that is forgivable. I was reminded of Ron Howard’s Apollo 13, a film that drew every bead of tension available from an inevitable conclusion.

Whereas in The Town Affleck seemed a little stiff in front of the camera, he feels much more relaxed here. He fits the dual role of spy and every day practical man rather well and sells the urgency of his character’s predicament without ever resorting to an over the top performance. A subplot involving Mendez’s separated wife and son feels quite unnecessary but is thankfully kept to a bare minimum. It is a film that favours its ensemble cast rather than one particular performer and this works all the better for it. Goodman and Arkin are a safe pair of hands and handle the comedic aspects of the Hollywood scenes with aplomb while Bryan Cranston is reliably grouchy in the role of Mendez’s CIA boss. If there is anyone to single out and praise it is the six who portray the American refuges. Established character actors rather than big name stars, they convey fear, resilience, scepticism and compassion that stays clear of melodrama and makes you genuinely care about their predicament and fate. Scoot McNairy in particular continues to build on a strong filmography that includes his superb turn in this year’s Killing Them Softly. Some commentators have criticised the films portrayal of Iranians, claiming it confuses the actions of the government with the general population and reduces them to a mass of simplified, chanting antagonists. I personally disagree with this; I found it much more even handed with sympathetic portrayals of certain characters and the grounding in historical fact. There is one wry scene where an Iranian official berates Mendez, undercover as a producer, for portraying Iran as ‘a land of flying carpets and snake charmers.’ There is certainly room for discussion though given the recent flowering of Iranian cinema in to western audiences and the complicated history between the two nations.

Argo is certainly not a classic but is an astonishingly well made, confident and brisk thriller that walks a fine line between its two sides of the coin and stands as Affleck’s most assured directorial work to date and a front runner for upcoming awards season. It will be fascinating to see where he goes next.