I spent some of the day cleaning, some of it watching television, some of it reading Kaleidotrope submissions, some it unexpectedly napping, and this evening watching Argo.
I thought I would be more impressed with it than I was. It’s a decent movie, well made and acted, with some moments of greatness. But I don’t think it’s a great movie, or even necessarily Ben Affleck’s best as director. It keeps juggling tones, and doesn’t always do it successfully, and I don’t think the film is really engaging until the second half, once Affleck’s character actually travels to Iran. And then the film is almost undone again by one Hollywood contrivance after another, manufactured tension that can make everyone involved look silly. And that’s leaving aside the possible historical inaccuracies and other criticisms that have followed the film.
I mean, I liked it, but I did not in any way love it. I can’t speak to its being last year’s “best picture,” though it did win that award. I only saw two of the other movies nominated in that category — Django Unchained and Beasts of the Southern Wild — and I don’t know if either were necessarily better than this. Certainly more daring, more personal. But I did like it, for the most part.