BLACK BAG. Dangerous Liaisons [REVIEW]

In 2013, Steven Soderbergh shocked the film world. At the age of 50, the director of Sex, Lies, and Videotape decided to retire from filmmaking. His Cannes competition entry Behind the Candelabra was meant to be his, quite literally, grand farewell. When asked about the reason behind this rather radical and unexpected decision, the American cited burnout. And indeed, throughout his rich and diverse career, Soderbergh barely ever left the set, working at a Bergman-like pace of two, sometimes even three films a year. Eventually, the time came for rest — to focus on painting, and occasionally producing or directing single episodes of TV shows. But his innate workaholism proved too strong. Since his “retirement,” Soderbergh has directed 10 films and over 30 episodes of television. His latest release, Black Bag, is the best thing the Traffic creator has given us since returning to directing.

The trailer hinted at a viewing experience similar to Allied — a spy thriller with a strong melodramatic thread. Just like in Robert Zemeckis’s rather underwhelming film, the main character is assigned by his superiors to find and eliminate a mole. One of the prime suspects is his wife, Kathryn (Cate Blanchett), who works for the same agency. But that’s where the similarities end. Soderbergh and his veteran screenwriter David Koepp aim higher, drawing inspiration from the cold prose of John le Carré and its film adaptations (especially Tomas Alfredson’s unforgettable Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). New pawns appear on the narrative chessboard: Freddie (Tom Burke) and Clarissa (Marisa Abela), Zoe (Naomie Harris) and James (Regé-Jean Page) — two couples attempting, with varying degrees of success, to balance their personal and professional lives. Conveniently, each character had the means and the motive to be behind the disastrous data leak. George (Michael Fassbender) invites them all to dinner, then tightens the tension with drugs hidden in a delicious masala sauce. He throws a metaphorical stone and watches the ripples on the water — the spy thriller evolves into a proper whodunit.

I won’t spoil the details of the plot — it’s something viewers should tackle themselves. Besides, while engaging and full of smart twists, it’s not the intrigue that feels most important in Black Bag. The film’s central theme, echoed consistently in its subplots, is the disruption of work-life balance. More specifically: the struggle to build lasting relationships in an environment where any offense or betrayal can be swept under the rug with the convenient catchphrase “Black Bag” (the original title refers to the codename for covert intelligence operations). What were you doing last night? Black Bag. Who did you meet last Friday? Black Bag. Work as the perfect excuse for personal neglect. Not long ago, we saw Fassbender in David Fincher’s excellent The Killer — a film exploring a similar theme. There, he played a hitman battling… workaholism. Constant readiness, permanent stress, tension, and the uniquely dangerous boredom of waiting for the “perfect moment” led the deadly serious and hyper-professional protagonist to make a mistake. He missed. George from Black Bag also slips up at one point, allows himself to be outwitted. But the reason is completely different: love.

Relying on Koepp’s exceptionally precise script, Soderbergh first and foremost tells a story about dangerous liaisons — romances and marriages in the workplace. He explores the blurred lines between professional and private life, emphasizing the consequences of such an arrangement. He has plenty of personal experience in this realm — Soderbergh’s wife, Jules Asner, worked on several of his films as a screenwriter, always under pseudonyms to avoid uncomfortable accusations of nepotism. Perhaps Soderbergh and Asner have also been asked the same persistent question George and Kathryn face from their colleagues: How do you do it? How is your relationship functioning so smoothly, almost flawlessly? While the relationships around them falter, the protagonists’ marriage seems unshakable. Their answer is paradoxical. It all rests on a quiet agreement; a trust rooted in mutual distrust. They spy on each other while also accepting being spied on — in this way, neither has anything to hide.

The screening of Black Bag ends with a climax straight out of an Agatha Christie novel: all suspects gathered at one table. George — in the style of Hercule Poirot — summarizes the plot, analyzes the characters’ motives and actions, and finally reveals the culprit. The whodunit reaches a satisfying resolution. Equally satisfying is the conclusion Soderbergh and Koepp reach in the film’s thematic core. In the battle between love and work, love wins — loyalty to one’s partner is the only truly healthy approach.