Ben Affleck's triumphant Argo let down by its leading actor

Fresh from winning Best Picture at the Oscars, Argo proves that the underdog can reign supreme.

Ben Affleck’s fifth directorial project has become a storming success due to the fact that it’s a genuinely good story, brilliantly told. And the fact that it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

The film opens with footage taken from the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, with revolutionaries outside the American embassy in Tehran. In all the panic, six members of staff manage to escape and are granted sanctuary in the Canadian embassy.

The Americans, being public enemy number one in the Middle East, are living on borrowed time. Canada doesn’t want to risk relations with Iran, so the six employees face a public beheading.

Based a true story, the film follows Tony Mendez (played by Affleck) who attempts to smuggle the fugitives out of the country by pretending to be a film producer. In order to make Iranian authorities believe their story, he embarks on a mission that takes him to Hollywood. He enlists the help of John Chambers (John Goodman) and film producer Lester Seigel (Alan Arkin, who steals the film) to find a bogus script, convince a studio to invest in the film and take it to Iran to scout for locations for the filming of sci-fri thriller Argo.

With George Clooney in the producer’s chair, the film is sensitively handled. The tension builds as the six Americans doubt Mendez can pull off fooling the Iranian authorities – all staunched supporters of the Shah – and whether they’ll manage to get out before they're discovered.

It’s a brilliant film, worthy of all the acclaim. It’s an unusual story that is stranger than fiction. If I had to be critical, it would be about Ben Affleck’s lack of any kind of acting ability. He let the film down, as you were unable to warm to him due to his lack of emotion and on-screen presence. He’s proved that his career should definitely be behind the camera.

First published 25/02/2013