Film Review
Only Steven Soderbergh could’ve pulled off a low-key thriller such as Black Bag, packed full of his inimitable style and savvy intrigue generated by its principals. This film is as smooth as smooth gets, its tones never leading to the gregarious or overt. Like a bottle of fine Scotch, it’s got character, savory depth of flavor, and just enough of a bite to let you know it’s dangerous without ever being oppressively so. Working from a script seemingly tailor-made for him by David Koepp—whose body of work ranges from indie films to mysteries to blockbusters—Soderbergh’s vision far surpasses the written word, enveloping us in a world of British intelligence unlike anything we’ve seen.
Heretofore, we’ve been dosed with outsized plots with one person fighting upstream to get to the truth, crossing continents and intelligence communities to get it. Black Bag scales it down to a seven-person microcosm that expands from SIS operative George (Michael Fassbender), who’s just been handed a list of five possible traitors; the trouble is that his wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) is on it. A single-take sequence rivaling that of Henry Hill and Karen Friedman walking into the Copacabana in Martin Scorsese’s GoodFellas sets the scene immediately after the opening logos, taking us from street level to an underground club and back up to the street, emerging in a back alley. It figuratively acknowledges the arc of the film and how its inhabitants operate… and it’s a damn good-looking shot, to boot.
We follow George as he aims to fulfill his weeklong mission (so noted by each day appearing in white-scribbled titles); he uses every asset within reach—a polygraph test, satellite imagery specialist Clarissa (Marisa Abela), and even laced food at a dinner party—to root out what George’s boss Stieglitz (Pierce Brosnan) calls “a stranger.” A film like this might seem like old hat to Soderbergh, but he constructs such a lived-in theater in which George and those around him operate. It’s not an underworld like that found in the John Wick films, where untouchable assassins move unchecked by law enforcement; we see people engaging in their day-to-day with the express purpose of not being noticed.
Ellen Mirojnick’s costume design blends each character into their backgrounds, never appearing out of the ordinary, but elevated, nonetheless. There are a lot of grays, blacks, and browns being worn, eschewing primary colors for less noticeability; it’s the cut of each garment that helps tell the story and define each person. Along with these dull-yet-not clothing choices, there’s an air with which everyone carries themselves that sets them apart from random passersby, but you only notice because Soderbergh’s camera (don’t let the credited name Peter Andrews fool you—it’s Soderbergh’s longtime alias he uses as cinematographer) is trained on them. It’s further enhanced by diffusion filters that allow light to seemingly bloom over their heads and around them, as if to give each character a glow separating them from civilians.
David Koepp’s screenplay feeds us (and George) bite by bite until the full scheme is exposed, and what an edifying dish it is. While our focus is on George and his anxiety-riddled struggle to prove his wife’s innocence, Kathryn and the surrounding characters—Clarissa, agents Freddie (Tom Burke) and James (Regé-Jean Page), and agency psychiatrist Zoe—all throw their hands in fully, keeping this guessing game going to its final reveal. Owing to the nature of their job, we never know who to trust, even Kathryn; Koepp dispenses with red herrings and fake-outs, driving George as directly as possible into the storm without raising too many eyebrows. We’re kept compartmentalized throughout, whether it’s George and Kathryn’s marriage, in what they do when they leave their home, and every action George takes to find his target. No one is safe, and Koepp and Steven Soderbergh keep everything airtight, allowing us to be wholly spellbound while these spies embroil themselves in a gripping dance.
Blu-ray Review
Picture: Black Bag is presented on a BD-66 disc in full 1080p HD from an 8K Redcode RAW capture. Steven Soderbergh’s visuals translate well to this medium, although I suspect the 4K disc might enhance more of the diffusion filter’s effects, especially when harsh lighting is used. I saw no encoding problems, such as macroblocking or black crush. Motion is well-defined, with none of the smeariness or stuttering often found in digital productions. The film spends a lot of time in daylight, with nighttime scenes being used for more intimate dialogue; in both settings, fine detail is visible and clothing textures are almost tangible. Black Bag’s look is meant to straddle the line between modern tech and a throwback feel, and this disc handles these visuals well.
Sound: The uncompressed, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack’s delights are just as subtle as the film itself. Like I said, Soderbergh isn’t trying to be overt, aligning with the nature of the film, and the soundtrack reflects that choice. The opening single-take sequence goes from street-level volume to dance club noise coming through all speakers, enveloping you in the scene’s milieu, but that’s about as showy as it gets. The rest of the film spends its time with dialogue and David Holmes’ jazz-tinged score tying everything together; speech is clear and centered, never drowned out. One scene features someone listening to a Roberta Flack album in the background; the ambient strains of “Compared to What?” (possibly a nice little nod to Guy Ritchie’s spy caper The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) provide color in the surrounds while the conversation taking place is firmly anchored in the center channel. Soderbergh is less focused on the artifice and more on keeping you immersed in the story, and his use of multichannel sound goes a long way toward our staying present with the film.
Extras: There are two bonus featurettes—“The Company of Talent” and “Designing Black Bag”—which serve up some behind-the-scenes footage and insights into the cast and crew’s processes. The first doesn’t stray far from the typical “____ is such a generous actor/director/____” kind of thing, but one thing stands out: the trust that Soderbergh puts in his actors. Naomie Harris describes Soderbergh as a director who doesn’t push his vision upon the actors or give them line readings; instead, he allows the actors to be, knowing he’ll get what he hired them to deliver. The second featurette focuses on the look of the film, with production designer Philip Messina and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick expounding upon how they brought their visions to life. Rounding out the extras is a collection of deleted scenes; some are scene extensions, but there’s one deleted scene that gives ghastly closure to an ancillary character. I could see why it was cut, but it’s a startling little bit of business nonetheless.
Black Bag makes its physical debut on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at retailers everywhere.
