Weekend Watch: The 355, The Tender Bar
A female-led spy thriller looks to take on the Bournes and the Bonds, while Ben Affleck dispenses wisdom from a watering hole
Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Jessica Chastain leads a spy action thriller and Ben Affleck is an advice-dispensing uncle. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
There have been one or two female-led spy movies in the past, and some of the franchises feature key female characters, but star/producer Jessica Chastain and co-writer director Simon Kinberg are aiming to switch things up with an all-female main ensemble made up of some truly great performers.
The 355 is the story of Mason “Mace” Brown (Chastain), a CIA officer whose latest mission alongside friend, partner (and potential romantic partner) Nick (Sebastian Stan) is to retrieve some very dangerous technology that has gotten out into the world. Naturally, that job goes wrong and soon Mace is forced to organize a team to track down the technological terror. She recruits a variety of fellow agents and experts, including retired tech expect Khadijah (Lupita Nyong’o), counsellor Graciela (Penélope Cruz), and German operative Marie (Diane Kruger), who is also on the case and reluctantly agrees to team up with the rest. Popping up later is Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan), whose Chinese authorities have their own interest in the tricky piece of kit. Thus follows a globe-trotting hunt that takes in London, Morocco and Singapore as Mace and the others attempt to stop the various villains who want to use the gadget for more nefarious ends.
It’s a lot of fun watching Chastain and the others spar even as they do what they can to shake up the spy genre. There isn’t as much invention as might have been, but in a time when we’re so used to seeing the likes of Tom Cruise play the spy game, there’s a refreshing energy to the scenes and some solid action, especially during the big finale. Chastain and her co-stars are naturally great at what they do and throw themselves into the genre with gusto. Kinberg, meanwhile, offers up some inventive moments (he co-wrote the script with Theresa Rebeck and Bek Smith). And though the production shot a lot of its footage in London, there’s still the feeling of a continent-leaping adventure here. The real issue is that the film doesn’t quite live up to that fantastic cast.
Though it won’t challenge the likes of Mission: Impossible or Bond in terms of scale and scope, The 355 finds its groove and proves to be a worthy addition to the legions of spies on screen.
The 355 is in UK and US cinemas today.
Image Credit: Amazon Studios
Amiable. It sounds like damning with faint praise, but that’s honestly the best word to sum up The Tender Bar, which adapts novelist and journalist J.R. Moehringer’s memoir. It’s the story of young JR (played initially by Daniel Ranieri and then by Tye Sheridan as he reaches college age), and his life growing up on Long Island. With a flustered yet caring mother (Lily Rabe) and a deadbeat DJ for a dad (Max Martini), JR gets most of his life lessons courtesy of his uncle, Charlie (Ben Affleck) and the grizzled patrons of Charlie’s bar.
If you’re seeking penetrating discussion of issues and truly intense drama, you might want to search elsewhere, as The Tender Bar, the latest film directed by George Clooney features neither. Aside from his writing aspirations, some daddy issues and a relationship challenge in college, JR’s young life is largely meandering and uneventful.
Which is not to say it’s boring, exactly, it’s more just a quiet look at a young man finding his place in the world with the help of a bunch of alcoholics and a streetwise older guy. Affleck brings an easy charm to the role of Charlie – he’s almost Good Will Hunting’s Chuckie transplanted to a new locale and with a few years of experience under his belt. Not that Affleck is simply repeating his classic performance, but there are real echoes of the Boston wiseass here.
Ranieri and Sheridan do what they can with the character of JR, though he’s often a passive observer of what’s going on around him, even as William Monahan’s script tries to breathe some real life into him.
Clooney has assembled a fine ensemble around the leads – there’s Christopher Lloyd in a tiny role as JR’s grandfather, grumpily wondering why his family never seems to move out (or moved back in even when they have), while Briana Middleton manages to make Sidney, JR’s great love, less objectional than she might first seem with her wishy-washy approach to romance and commitment.
Yet while seeming like a comfy hug from a family member with just a little hint of booze on their breath, The Tender Bar rarely achieves much more than that, locking down little that is truly poetic or observational – ironic, given it’s based on the life of a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer.
The Tender Bar is on Prime Video now.