Blanchett and Fassbender a dynamic duo in a smart and snappy Soderbergh spy thriller

Fans of Slow Horses will love Steven Soderbergh’s smart and sophisticated spy thriller with Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, writes Leigh Paatsch.

With an uber-cool spy thriller, an old-school buddy comedy and a fascinating and funny Aussie sports doco, there’s something for everyone on the big screen this week.

BLACK BAG (M)

Michael Fassbender as George Woodhouse and Cate Blanchett as Kathryn St. Jean in director Steven Soderbergh's spy thriller, Black Bag. Picture: Claudette Barius/Focus Features

Director: Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven)

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris

★★★★

Open it or carry it, but never put it down

Looks very, very likely that Black Bag will be the best movie released anywhere this March (a month traditionally not known for fine cinema).

Should you elect to somehow miss this classy spy thriller while it’s here, you will only have yourself to blame.

It seems as if veteran director Steven Soderbergh and his longtime writing partner David Koepp have thrown an entire season of the great TV series Slow Horses into a blender with the classic flick Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Even after further sprinkling in a bit of Bond here and a bit of Bourne there – along with some astonishing scenes where an elite cast really get to flex their performance prowess – the whole thing is over and done with well inside the 90-minute mark.

If you’ve been suffering from long-movie syndrome this summer, the contents of Black Bag form the definitive antidote.

With so little time on the clock, it should be no surprise this fast-paced affair hits the ground at high speed.

Early on, we are invited to a dinner party held by two British spies of great renown: George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender), a grandmaster of interrogation and behavioural analysis, and his equally accomplished wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett), an gifted global strategist who still works out in the field on occasion.

Michael Fassbender and Marisa Abela in Black Bag. Picture: Claudette Barius/Focus Features

The Woodhouse’s guests share much in common with their hosts. Not only are they employed by the same unnamed secret agency in London. They are also coupled-up, albeit on the down-low because of how in-house relationships are perceived in their office.

The agency’s head psychologist Zoe (Naomie Harris) has been conducting one-on-one sessions with George’s cocky number two, James (Rege-Jean Page). As for chief of remote surveillance Freddie (Tom Burke), he’s just started dating a recent addition to his staff, the volatile tech whiz Clarissa (Marisa Abela).

A long and tension-riddled conversation ensues. There has been a high-level leak at the agency, a breach which will have serious consequences for global stability if acted upon. Someone seated at the Woodhouse table is the culprit.

The same group will convene at the same location for a meal in a month from now, where it can be freely assumed the traitor will be unmasked. However, in the meantime, we will be ghosting their every move, both during working hours, and also before and after.

As far as espionage-themed whodunits go, this is brilliant stuff from start to finish, with all six lead actors bringing their A-game to witheringly wordy scenes where not everything is to believed, but not a single detail should be overlooked.

While the imposing dynamic duo of Blanchett and Fassbender will win many plaudits for the sinister sophistication of their work here, they are given a serious run for their money by the slashing display contributed by rising star Abela (continuing her fine work from last year’s Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black).

Black Bag is in cinemas now

ONE OF THEM DAYS (M)

Keke Palmer and SZA in One Of Them Days. Picture: Anne Marie Fox

★★★½

General release

Here is a true collector’s item for cinema enthusiasts: an actual comedy getting a proper release on the big screen. Even better still, this one is very funny, largely thanks to effective casting, deceptively engaging writing and a winningly woozy vibe that harks directly back to Ice Cube and Chris Tucker’s landmark hip-hop stoner classic, Friday.

A killer combo of the ever-irresistible Keke Palmer (Nope) and a charismatic first-timer in SZA (best known until now as a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter) play hapless roommates who have a day to find the rent due on their LA apartment, or they will be getting the boot. The desperate nature of the heroine’s plight sparks a cartoonish odyssey across the city, taking in an unplanned stops at blood banks, pawn shops and a high-rise power line holding an expensive pair of Air Jordans just out of their reach. While many endearingly odd minor characters come and go, Palmer and SZA work up some major comic chemistry that will have you laughing along in no time.

ANGE & THE BOSS: PUSKAS IN AUSTRALIA (PG)

Hungarian football great Ferenc Puskas coaching in Melbourne.

★★★★

Selected cinemas

Devotees of the world game need to make a direct beeline for this fascinating (and sincerely amusing) Australian sports doco while it enjoys a limited run in metro markets this month. This is the strange but true story of how one of the greatest soccer players of all-time – the Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas – somehow appeared in suburban Melbourne in the early 1990s to coach a local team to premiership glory. This was a mirthful miracle on par with Tiger Woods suddenly taking a job as a club pro at your local golf course, or Roger Federer offering his services as a hitting partner by the hour. One of the members of Puskas’ team was future Australian national coach (and current Tottenham manager) Ange Postecoglou, and it is the humorously heartfelt recollections of he and his teammates that make this such an endearing and lively affair.

Originally published as Blanchett and Fassbender a dynamic duo in a smart and snappy Soderbergh spy thriller