Cate Blanchett as Kathryn St. Jean and Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse in a scene from "Black Bag." (Photo by Claudette Barius/Focus Features)
It's only March, but we've already had two movies by Steven Soderbergh released in theaters, two months apart. The prolific filmmaker burst onto the international movie scene in 1989 by becoming the youngest director to win the Palme d'Or for his debut feature, “Sex, Lies and Videotape,” then achieved household-name status with a trio of “Ocean's” heist flicks headlined by George Clooney and Brad Pitt and rounded out by all-star ensemble casts that included the likes of Matt Damon, Andy Garcia and frequent collaborator Julia Roberts.
But what is perhaps lesser known is that in between his big studio undertakings and awards-season hopefuls (“Erin Brockovich” and “Traffic” on the same year), Soderbergh never stopped making low-budget projects. These have frequently been formally audacious undertakings, aesthetically intricate playgrounds for the Oscar-winning filmmaker to experiment with shooting formats and high concepts. It's clear this is a director who doesn't want his mind to atrophy, who refuses to rest on his laurels. How hands-on is he? For quite some time, the Atlanta, Georgia native has acted as his own director of photography under the pseudonym Peter Andrews.
It hardly matters that the quality of his output has fluctuated wildly, from sublime tours de force (1993's “King of the Hill”) to well-intentioned misfires (2002's Clooney-fronted “Solaris” remake) to character-driven crowdpleasers (“Magic Mike” and “Magic Mike's Last Dance”). He remains a consistently interesting figure in moviedom because you don't always quite know what you're going to get, yet when he's in the zone, his textures and rhythms are unmistakable. And pretty hard to resist.
Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse, Tom Burke as Freddie Smalls and Pierce Brosnan as Arthur Steiglitz in a scene from "Black Bag." (Photo by Claudette Barius/Focus Features)
This week marks the commercial release of Soderbergh's latest effort, a slinky spy thriller with one of those attractive ensemble casts he brings together with such effortless flair. A more modestly scaled film, what could be perceived as his first full-on horror movie, recently became available for digital rental following its theatrical release in January. Let's take a closer look at both films.
“Black Bag”: They seem comfortable around each other. Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) and George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) wind down for the night at their tony London flat and map out their itinerary for the next day. You don't need anyone to tell you their marriage works. These two simply click.
Oh, and by the way, they both work at the same espionage agency: the National Cyber Security Centre. No topic is necessarily off limits between them, except those national-security tidbits that must remain under wraps. The two-word reply when one asks the other about secret spy stuff? Black bag.
Regé-Jean Page as Col. James Stokes, Naomie Harris as Dr. Zoe Vaughn, Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse, Cate Blanchett as Kathryn St. Jean, Tom Burke as Freddie Smalls, and Marisa Abela as Clarissa Dubose in a scene from "Black Bag." (Photo by Claudette Barius/Focus Features)
The improbable departure point for this sleek, silky smooth cat-and-mouse yarn is complicated. Though it isn't as radical a turn as you might think simply because before George came home, he had met with a colleague who alerted him about a leak in the agency. Somebody's feeding secrets, George is warned, and his wife is on the list of possible snitches.
What's a devoted husband and top-notch agent to do? It's elementary: host a dinner party with four of the couple's co-workers, who are also romantically involved with one another, and sniff them out to see who might be the rat.
The setpiece that follows, which unfolds at something resembling real time, gives the impression that the rest of the film will be a single-setting pressure cooker, something akin to material Roman Polanski would have made during the 2000s.
But what follows is even breezier, with Soderbergh's cool-as-a-cucumber allure sprinkled throughout. It's not just the camerawork that glides seamlessly from one scene to the next. The entire film is walking down a fashion show catwalk.
Callina Liang as Chloe in a scene from "Presence" (Photo courtesy of NEON by Peter Andrews. Copyright The Spectral Spirit Company)
Don't just credit Soderbergh for the spring in “Black Bag's” step. The screenplay, penned by David Koepp (“Jurassic Park, “Secret Window”), juggles all six characters with storytelling economy and even throws in a brief but tasty role for Pierce Brosnan as George and Kathryn's boss, because why not? It's as if Koepp took the building blocks of a John Le Carré page-turner and imbued the material with the levity of a workplace comedy, all while continuing to turn the screws on the audience. Hidden resentments and indiscretions simmer to the surface with clockwork precision.
Blanchett and Fassbender seamlessly juggle vulnerability and poker-faced resolve as they work to problem solve. Soderbergh and Koepp keep us guessing as to whether they're working in tandem or at odds with one another. The supporting characters, a merry clash of big egos and healthy libidos, give actors like “Bridgerton's” Regé-Jean Page and Bond movie vet Naomie Harris with just enough to chew on, but the MVP here is the esteemed Tom Burke (“Furiosa,” “The Souvenir”), who wields his disaffected spy character's boorish entitlement like a samurai sword.
If you look beyond the pulse-quickening protocol breaches and crisply edited showdowns, it becomes apparent that what most fascinates Soderbergh here is the ebb and flow of Kathryn and George's marriage. (Anyone who has seen “Contagion,” his seemingly prophetic pandemic thriller, can tell you that when he places his characters under his microscope, you really feel the intensity of his gaze.) He contrasts this serenity of this couple's lived-in monogamy with the chaotic sex lives of the people they work with, to the point that the interpersonal relationships upstage the mystery at the film's core.
Chris Sullivan as Chris and Lucy Liu as Rebekah in a scene from "Presence" (Photo courtesy of NEON by Peter Andrews copyright The Spectral Spirit Company)
At 93 minutes, “Black Bag” follows Soderbergh's recent trend of short running times, and the brevity fits this nimbly executed whodunit like a glove. Pert and lively, the Focus Features release is more of an accessory than an essential item in the filmmaker's body of work. Ah, but what fun it is to take it out for a spin.
“Presence”: “Black Bag” was preceded at the beginning of the year by this other Soderbergh/Koepp collaboration, a chiller with a simple conceit and spartan mise en scène. The concept is simple yet full of potential: What if you told a ghost story exclusively from the ghost's point of view?
The story kicks into gear when the Paynes, a family of four, move into a large house out in the suburbs. We're pretty sure it's the suburbs, even though you're going to be stuck indoors for the next 85 minutes. It's a good thing that the residence is full of windows, and that windows play an important role.
What's not so good is Soderbergh's decision to shoot “Presence” in a series of long takes with a wide angle lens that too often distorts what you are watching. At first, the director effectively uses the endlessly roving POV camerawork to convey this spirit's confusion and disorientation. Workaholic mom Rebekah (Lucy Liu), sensitive dad Chris (Chris Sullivan), sullen older brother Tyler (Eddy Maday) and grief-stricken baby sis Chloe (Callina Liang) bicker and make peace, and it doesn't take a clairvoyant to see the deep fissures in this household and that the marriage in hanging on by a thread.
But as this entity evolves from shy witness to active voyeur in the lives of this dysfunctional clan, the film becomes repetitive and off-putting. Koepp reveals the source of Chloe's torment early on: the death of her best friend Nadia. When Chloe becomes the only family member who intuits their new home is haunted, she initially suspects this is the ghost of her bestie. This invisible tenant's actions nevertheless remain noncommittal, meaning it's unclear whether its intentions are benevolent or sinister.
One would think that this is where “Presence” finally kicks into gear, but Soderbergh can never overcome the film's central problem: that what should feel like the immersive perspective of a being trapped between realms of existence instead feels like the calculated swoops of a digital camera.
Callina Liang as Chloe, Chris Sullivan as Chris, Eddy Maday as Tyler, Lucy Liu as Rebekah and Julia Fox as Cece in a scene from "Presence" (Photo courtesy of NEON by Peter Andrews. Copyright The Spectral Spirit Company)
The gimmicky trappings could have worked as a short, but in its compact feature-length form, “Presence” is a bit of a slog. Not even the narrative sleight of hand in Koepp's screenplay, or the introduction of Ryan (West Mulholland), a classmate of Tyler who catches Chloe's eye and stirs things up in expected and unexpected ways, can offset the tedium.
What makes the movie even more disappointing is that it becomes a rather patronizing kind of supernatural story: a cautionary tale about the consequences of refusing to heed the warnings of a parent, however imperfect they might be. You feel Soderbergh and Koepp wagging their fingers at the viewer and looking down on their adolescent characters, shaking their heads in dismay.
“Presence” ends up being a drip, a low-budget “Poltergeist” with passive-aggressive tendencies. It underscores that while it's admirable when a filmmaker chooses to step outside their comfort zone, there's a reason while they often thrive when they stay in their lane. In Soderbergh's case, it feels like he moved on to his next project before this movie was even over. Meanwhile, this critic is left wondering when's the right time to ask if he's done with his lecture and whether or not I'm allowed to go to my room.
“Black Bag” is now playing in wide release across South Florida, including Dolby Cinema engagements at AMC Aventura and AMC Sunset Place 24. It is also showing at the Nite Owl Drive-in + Tropical Market. “Presence” is now available for digital rental on various platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Fandango at Home, Google Play and YouTube.
