Black Bag ★★★½

IT’S not often that we see two films by the same director released in just over a month.

But Steven Soderbergh has always marched to the beat of his own drum and, in these days of constant safe sequels and remakes, we should be thankful for that.

Soderbergh has shown over the years that he can handle commercial fare like the Oceans franchise as well as micro-budget, art-house exercises, like the recent Presence, plus everything between those extremes.

Despite being marketed as a spy thriller and having two bankable stars in Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett in the main roles, Black Bag is not a typical commercial film.

It’s a dark drama full of deadpan humour that harkens back in style and content to classic ‘60s spy dramas like The Sy Who Came in from the Cold and the Harry Palmer films.

In fact, Fassbender seems to be channelling Michael Cain’s Palmer with his character George Woodhouse’s classic name, icy demeanour, dapper dress sense and coke bottle glasses.

Set in London in an unnamed intelligence agency, George is one of its most experienced and formidable spies; a man who even investigated his own father.

We meet George as the camera tracks him through a nightclub and outside to a secret meeting with another operative from the agency who tells him there is a traitor in their midst.

Investigations so far have narrowed the suspects down to five, including Kathryn St Jean who is also George’s wife.

It’s now up to George to bring his considerable skills to the investigation. Does he have a problem with investigating his own wife? Of course not.

Kathryn, played nicely by Blanchett, is more flamboyant than George but in many ways they mirror each other in intellect, instinct and ability to one-up the opposition and sniff out treachery.

George tells Kathryn he is investigating four suspects and has invited them all to their house for dinner that night. They’ll be arriving soon.

What follows is a dinner party that is more akin to a subtle interrogation during which each guest is manipulated and/or goaded into unveiling some dark secrets with harsh emotional outcomes.

Instead of a cat-and-mouse game, Black Bag more resembles insects trying to navigate an intricate spider web with a Huntsman and a Black Widow on their tails.

All the cast is excellent and the script by David Koepp, best known for more commercial fare like Jurassic Park and the Indiana Jones films, is a constant delight.

Watched at the cinema.