Spy game - Jeu d'espions

There are many reasons why we like a movie or not. For me, this is the case in witch small things were enough to like it: the two main actors, the places in which the action occurs, and the fact that it has more to do with a love affair, in a tragic atmosphere than about spies. Well, of course this is about spies - two of them - and mostly about the relation between them; if they are similar enough to understand each other, they are also different enough to generate some tension in the relation.

Maybe this is more about how the characters move around each others than about action or intrigue. In fact this is so obvious that the way in which the story is told is mostly in flashback, with Muir (Robert Redford) introducing all of them and narrating part. So, the story is the story and the spy game is what Muir does within the CIA, in 24 hours or so. The distinction is important because if you think of this as a traditional spy movie (maybe like the Bourne Identity or Supremacy) it has two obvious flaws for the genre: the plot is very simple (maybe predictable) and there's no bad guy, no one to kill or to revenge; there's also almost no genuine action, and, as far as I can remember, Bishop (Brad Pitt) only fires one weapon in the whole movie. Maybe what mislead most of the people was the title of the movie, and maybe that's why most of them didn't like it. However, in my opinion, this is a very good movie, with strong leading roles and a compelling story.

No gadgets, no arms, no villains, no action...oh, no,this is a whole different game, and it's a serious and a dangerous game: the game of people and their relations.

SPY GAME / (2001) *** (out of four)

Tony Scott is known for his big budget, fast-paced, action-packed extravaganzas. His latest film, "Spy Game" is no exception. He takes advantage of a massive budget, but loses sight of human comprehension. It's difficult to grasp his moral when it's awash in a superficial style where individual shots seldom last more than thirty seconds, and where dialogue never exceeds the length of a short paragraph. There's not much time to introduce characters, situations, or even locations-datelines appear on the screen to identify times and places.

Yet, it doesn't just feel as if we are in another movie by Tony Scott-everything feels very real. The danger is real. The characters are real. Many action films are about the action, special effects, and car chase sequences. "Spy Game" does contain those things, but they are in a focused, tight, evocative thriller. This movie is about the characters, not the action. It never forgets that.

"Spy Game" contains a complex structure. We begin in 1991. Veteran CIA officer Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) prepares for retirement. On his last day, he learns that his one-time protégé, Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt), has been captured in a foreign prison on a charge of espionage and will be executed in 24 hours. Fearing international crisis, the CIA decides it would be too risky to save him. But with a new generation in control of the agency, Nathan is no longer an insider. He must outsmart his own agency in order to save his old friend.

Most of the film plays out in flashbacks as the CIA digests valuable information from Muir. The movie spans from the Vietnam war to the end of the Cold War, with years ranging from 1965 to about 1991 (although the characters don't seem to age much). We learn Nathan chose Tom as a sharpshooter in Vietnam. He trained with Bishop. They formed a close bond, until something came between them-a woman.

The forty-year span in time poses no problem for "Spy Game." The engaging screenplay, by Michael Frost Beckner and David Arata, focuses on only the necessary characters. The soundtrack, by Harry Gregson-Williams, masterfully captures the various time periods, spicing the scenes with a slick sense of style and intrigue. The cinematography by Daniel Mindel makes the differences in location clear. Christian Wagner's editing gives the movie a frenzied, almost rushed emotion, that puts us right in the middle of the race against time.

Pitt and Redford retain their ground, despite a thick style. Redford creates a character out of nothing. We know little about him at the beginning, and we know little about him at the end. But he somehow gives his character a conscience, human values, and a lot of interest. We care about him because we do not like the black and white CIA operatives. Thus, we care about Pitt's character as well. Pitt gives his character an immature nature. He is in a stereotypical young hotshot role that might have fit him better a few years ago, but he still creates a grave sense of panic and fear.

With a structure like this, we expect subplots to evolve from the flashbacks. There is an intriguing terrorist story. A love story. Themes about betrayal, trust, position, friendship, commitment…but "Spy Game" never slows down and allows us to absorb these important details. By the end, we feel exhilarated, and we know we just watched a very smart, well-crafted film, but the most we can take from it is that it is a very smart, well-crafted film. I think, beneath all the style and surface, there is a little more to the movie than that.

That's my big takeaway for this film. It reminds me of good old-fashioned filmmaking where there was a good script, there were good actors and there was good videography. You just can't make them like this anymore. People who have seen the Sting with Robert Redford will feel a bit nostalgic watching this film. I also put the Mechanic in my title because it reminds me of when Jan-Michael Vincent and Charles Bronson made another fabulous film about spies and espionage.

Some people call this a spy film but I disagree, this is a film about two spies who have a deep respect for each other and know their craft well - or at least Mr Muir knows his craft so well that he fools even people he works for, anticipating their suspicions. It's about not leaving someone behind.

Redford is such a stand out actor, he's truly one of a kind. Many reviews mentioned that Redford and Pitt seem to work well together but what a lot of people don't know is that Redford actually hand-picked Brad Pitt and his first feature chatacter was in a Redford film called A River Runs Through It in 1992. Redford is quoted as saying that Pitt reminded him of himself and he had big plans for him. So one would assume they are probably friends, which probably also answers the question someone else had which is why Pitt did not choose to star in the Bourne identity instead of Spy Game - he already had a successful working relationship with Redford. Furthermore Pitt did not need to do the Bourne identity, he had already done Oceans 11 and Ocean's 12 along with a myriad of other incredibly High grossing films, much higher grossing than those that Matt Damon did in a similar time period.

As for people saying that the plot was confusing or poorly written, I disagree on that point as well. Because it has a beginning, it has a middle and it has an ending. The film starts out showing us how Pitt's character gets thrown into prison in a foreign country; the middle part is kind of shown along with the present activities of Muir setting up Tom's rescue while at the same time telling how he and Tom met and worked together in the past. And all this while the audience knows that Muir is planning to rescue Tom but we don't know how until really the final moments of the film, which is the sting more or less. The inserted memories were masterfully done.

For anyone who watches AGT and wonders how those illusionists trick the panel into saying certain numbers and drawing certain pictures, you will learn a lot by watching this film because those psychological mind games of training your audience of what to chose and what to see are very real and they did, in fact, start in the spy arena.

Or is it? Maybe it is easier to ... play it, if you consider it a game? One thing is for sure, Tony Scott is a masterful player ... behind the camera. You can tell with this movie, how he likes to shoot movies and how he likes to create tension, even in a simple scene, where Redford is only holding a cup of coffee and going from one room to another ... insert, camera moves with him, towards him, cut little snippets in and make it seem like something urgent ... masterclass in shooting and editing I'd say.

But that is not all we have here. You also have two wonderful actors ... two people who surely admire each other and play off each other very well. Even if their characters may not agree on many things ... there is some level of respect even in the movie and their playing off each other.

The Spy Game is not something that can be seen lightly ... and something that plays with human life. Where certain scenarios are considered wins, even if a lot has been lost ... you'll know once you see this. I'm surprised I never had seen this before the other day ... but there is only so many movies one can watch, right?

I made the mistake of only watching this film once the first time around. I did end up buying it, though I was never sure why. Then, years later, I got around to watching it again... and again... and again... While Spy Game is so fast-paced that it's difficult to keep up the first time around, I think that's what makes it such a great DVD.

There are performances in this movie that defy description. You almost get a sense that if you were to meet him in the street, you'd get someone named Nathan Muir playing the part of Robert Redford - the transformation is that complete. In several scenes, but especially the scene on the Berlin rooftop, Redford gives a performance that is unlike almost anything I've ever seen in cinema. It's that perfect. Brad Pitt also does an amazing job, but Redford steals the whole movie.

I had to re-watch Spy Game three times before I felt I got a complete understanding of everything going on. There is almost nothing given away for free in this movie - none of the standard Hollywood "shove-it-in-your-face-so-you're-sure-to-get-it" fare. Every decision, most plot points, and a lot of what would normally be called "meaningful looks" are written on Muir's face for a split second, then they're gone.

This is one of the few movies that's intellectually challenging to watch. It takes patience and a quick assessment of each scene to understand and keep up. None of the acting is over the top or explicit; most everything is controlled, subtle, and delicately handled.

All in all, Spy Game is an exceptional movie, IMO, to watch and in some ways to study.