Film: Black Bag

Stylish and succinct, the latter a word I’ve just taught a bunch of Ukrainians I have been working with.

Black Bag is a spy thriller centred around the super spy couple Kathryn and George. (I don’t the term is explained but I take it to mean someone is doing something secret or illegal).

One day George is told his wife is a suspected traitor. Instead of entrapping her, he goes about to prove her innocence.

Black Bag is a thriller that is much about the characters. We learn about them partly through the in-house counsellor. I think the Sopranos use the same method but I can’t confirm that as I’ve never watched it.

Inevitably, there is a traitor, a power-hungry ambitious character and a person in charge with bad leadership skills.

To uncover the traitor, George organises a super-stylish dinner party and invites all the suspects, including the counsellor. As it happens, the four guests are couples. The adage that you only date the people you work with because you are either too busy to have a social life or you are a spy and no one from the outside can ever know you are one.

Being a thriller, twists play a crucial role. The key lies in whether they are predictable. Sometimes, a film offers too much time for the audience to think, leading to second-guessing the outcome. However, this one progresses quickly; while you may guess the ending, you might not have enough time to figure out how they get there.e.

7/10