Argylle (2024) | Dir. Matthew Vaughn
Courtesy of Apple TV+
Written by: Belle McIntyre
This over the top action adventure extravanganza is certainly not for everyone and particularly not for anyone looking for more than a gobsmacking unserious good time. It is not my usual preference but that was the mood I was in when I saw it and it was deemed a success on that basis. So consider yourself forewarned. It’s not as if it does not challenge the little grey cells. The twists and turns of the plot are as plentiful and incongruous as any James Bond or Knives Out film. At times it becomes as frenetic and manic as something from Terry Gilliam or Mel Brooks. The ensemble cast is large and intrepid.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
The opening scene with Dua Lipa as a sexy spy assassin who encounters agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on a louche club’s dance floor is a sensuous seduction which morphs into treachery and high speed car and motorcycle chases and sets the pace for the rest of the film. Cut to a book reading by the successful author Ellie Conway (Brice Dallas Howard) of her latest edition in the Argylle series. Ellie lives a simple quiet life of writing, happily accompanied by her constant companion Alfie, a spooky cat with tiny ears who travels in a custom-made backpack with a round window . Trouble starts when a stranger on a train pretending to be a fan sets off a violent series of actions which result in violence and mayhem and an escape which defies all logic and launches Ellie into the world of Argylle. Her rescuer Aiden (Sam Rockwell) claims to be a spy whose job it is to disrupt the nefarious plans of a devious, highly secretive organization known as The Division (think SMERSH from Casino Royale). The Division is referenced in Ellie’s series.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
From this point on it is impossible to describe the convoluted events and ever escalating chaos. We learn that Ellie has been having nightmares involving the characters in her book. Apparently they are coming to life and she has become a character in her own fiction. What follows defies attempts at elucidation. I kept wondering if this could be the product of one feverish imagination but concluded it must have been several. Anyway, I can barely untangle it in my mind, much less commit it to the page.
Courtesy of Apple TV+
The intrepid cast includes Ariana De Bose as a secret agent, Bryan Cranston as the head of The Division, and Samuel L.Jackson as a charmingly eccentric former CIA director who holds the cards to bring down The Division. The cinematography includes mind-bending special effects, some hilarious scenes of bedlam, a somewhat unlikely romantic connection and a final twist that will leave you shaking your head and appreciating the crazy creativity that has been brought to bear in a film without much point. But all the actors appear to be having as much fun as the film turns out to be. It is what it is. A blast.
