Black Bag, 2025.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
Starring Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke, Pierce Brosnan, Orli Shuka, Kae Alexander, Bruce Mackinnon, and Daniel Dow.
SYNOPSIS:
When intelligence agent Kathryn Woodhouse is suspected of betraying the nation, her husband – also a legendary agent – faces the ultimate test of whether to be loyal to his marriage, or his country.
At one point during the espionage mole hunt, one character says, “It’s about us.” That’s the key to getting substance out of director Steven Soderbergh’s stylistically riveting (he once again pulls double duty as cinematographer), sharply penned (not only does the script come from frequent recent collaborator David Koepp, but the writer of the first Mission: Impossible meaning that this feels like a more authentic window into that world, stripped-down of explosive action set pieces to focus on something much more character driven) Black Bag.
While the narrative concerns Michael Fassbender’s George Woodhouse, who is given a list of five suspects, which includes his romantic partner, Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett), potentially up to no good with a deadly virus called Severus -capable of melting down nuclear reactors and killing thousands – it’s more tantalizingly a look at how toxic it would be to have a relationship in a profession where deception is one of its most required skills. The other suspects include another pair of couples, Tom Burke’s Freddie Smalls seeing Marisa Abela’s Clarissa Dubose since, even though he thinks she is unhinged and loco when it comes to distrusting his faithfulness, she has a rough backstory and doesn’t expect much from him. Then there is the intelligence agency therapist Dr. Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris) dating gaming-obsessed Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page).
George has arranged for a dinner get-together where he can spike everyone’s drinks with a truth serum and, hopefully, begin to get to the bottom of this. There is also a ticking time counter, with him having roughly a week to label the traitor before something disastrous happens. George has also been chosen because he is the best at detecting lies. This dinner party is strikingly shot with glowing yellow lights emitting from candles spread across the table, as if to illuminate the face of each lie for effect. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take long for George to get inside their heads, and before the night is over, someone stabs another in the hand.
That’s only the first dinner of two in the film. For good measure, there is also an uproarious polygraph montage that cuts between characters and questions.
Dating a civilian from within the espionage world is understandably difficult, but Black Bag suggests that it is equally challenging or more complicated to do so surrounded by someone working a job that, yes, demands loyalty but also trains operatives in the art of professional lies, surveillance, and staying like a shadow when up to misdeeds. Gender roles are also accounted for, with one supporting character musing why it’s easy and appealing for men in this profession to commit adultery.
The title amusingly refers to a commonplace excuse of job confidentiality to slip away from talking about the truth. As everyone gets back to work, with George continuing his investigation, more duplicitous layers of these characters are revealed, sometimes in tandem with revelations regarding Severus. This often comes across as an information overload, yet it is stimulating due to the screenplay’s wit and the characters’ bite when going in on the verbal attack.
Like the emotionless assassin Michael Fassbender recently played in David Fincher’s The Killer, George is a laser-focused individual who will put the mission above anything else. This means he does take the suspicion of his wife seriously, which also turns out to be ironic since the other characters assume they are the perfect couple. In some ways, they are, especially for co-workers within this inherently snaky profession.
Their sex life is also relatively healthy, at one point culminating in some erotic talk about how much they trust one another and if they would kill for each other. As George assures Kathryn that his loyalty to her comes first and that he would kill for her, Steven Soderbergh’s camera frames and cuts between the eyes of each character, appropriately capturing their lust and passion.
There are several ways to interpret what is happening, each character’s goals, and the endgame. Steven Soderbergh also knows that the spy games must be fun to make the catty, double-crossing relationship aspects compelling. Fortunately, Black Bag is also a blast, finding excitement and clever twists within what feels as close to as accurate as an intelligence agency such as this could be depicted. That also doesn’t mean the story surrounding Severus is enthralling, because truthfully, it’s not. However, Steven Soderbergh and David Koepp leverage that to maximize the personal relationship surprises.
What’s left to ponder is one thorny exploration of love and whether or not even the seemingly happiest characters here can express that healthily. Maybe that also doesn’t matter. As another character puts it, the extreme behavior taken by each partner could also be seen as hot. Fittingly, Black Bag sizzles with tight, brisk pacing and exhilaration.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
