Stealthy and wealthy: A review of 'Black Bag'

There is a suspected traitor inside British Secret Intelligence, and senior agent George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) is tasked with plugging the leak. He is given a list of five probable candidates, one of whom is definitely the turncoat. What makes this a little complex is that one of the names on the list is his wife, Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett), also a top-level employee of her Majesty’s service.

Fassbender and Blanchett are glorious as this husband-and-wife spy duo. It’s a spicy addition to the typical “find the mole” plot. In the course of their work duties, they often have to keep secrets from each other, sort of a backwards form of spousal privilege, where they can’t share certain aspects about a case with their partner.

The stuff you keep from your spouse goes into a “black bag,” even from someone you ostensibly love. And this is the case even when one of them isn’t suspected of malfeasance. So you can imagine the complexity added to an already tenuous dynamic when Kathryn becomes a suspect.

Along with the masterclass acting from our leads, “Black Bag” gives us support from several amazing folks: Marisa Abela who made a name for herself in HBO’s “Industry”; Rege-Jean Page, “Bridgerton” heartthrob; Tom Burke who stole the show in “Furiosa,” and Naomie Harris, who is good in everything she does, including the role of Ms. Moneypenny in another British spy concern you may have heard about.

Can we just take a moment to give it up for director Steven Soderbergh? After all these years, he keeps the output strong. In “Black Bag” he decides to serve as director of photography as well. The film is gorgeously rendered. In particular, his combination of camera shots and soft lighting is seductive, and mesmerizing, ensconcing the sharp, often acerbic dialogue perfectly. London cityscapes have none of the Brutalist edges. It’s more silky, sexy.

Writing credit goes to industry veteran David Koepp; it’s one of his best in years. And the music by David Holmes is perfectly understated, with layers of way-too-cool jazz.

Several scenes are as good as the best stage plays. This is not Jason Bourne, so set your expectations accordingly. While there isn’t a lot of action and pyrotechnics, the movie is still suspenseful and provocative. It’s thrilling.

“Black Bag” is a complex, deliciously contrived espionage tale wrapped in a dramedy of manners, where the bull's-eye focuses firmly on the upper echelon of the spy class in England, which apparently is upper crust.

Speaking of which, I’ve watched a lot of spy content in my time, and I have questions. Does MI-6 really pay so well? Do all spies across the pond dress exclusively in designer, carry couture bags, drink rare Champagne and cook exclusively in Le Creuset when they’re not busy messing with dead drops, double agents and drone strikes? Are they truly wealthy or are we talking maxed out credit cards? Is the black bag always made by Hermes?

Regardless of the answers, one of the benefits of this largess is there’s a lot of lifestyle eye candy throughout “Black Bag” to go with the high quality, “buy-it-for-life” level content by the filmmakers. It’s a delightful combination of “Vogue” and “Architectural Digest,” but it moves and is shown on a 60x40-foot screen, and has an excellent story to go with it.

This movie absolutely deserves your patronage. We need to train industry decision makers to keep funding content like this. Those of you who complain about the movie industry being hijacked by superheroes and space wars targeted to children and stunted adult males, please step up and support this movie.