Argylle

by Mike McGranaghan

I could write a negative review of Argylle if I wanted to. I could criticize the overstuffed, preposterous story and the central plot twist that’s ripped off from other spy stories. I could complain that the 139-minute running time is too long. I could rage against a nonsensical action scene where a character ice skates on oil. A lot of things about this movie could be faulted. There’s just one problem: doing any of that would betray the fun I had watching the movie.

Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is the author of a best-selling book series about a spy named Argylle. While on a train bound for Chicago to see her mother (Catherine O’Hara), she meets Aidan Wilde (Sam Rockwell), a real-life spy who informs her that she’s in great danger. Elly’s most recent book has eerily mirrored actual events involving a covert government organization called the Division that’s run by madman Ritter (Bryan Cranston). They think she has inside information about a flash drive that could expose their evil deeds. Aidan attempts to help Elly locate the drive before they do. Henry Cavill portrays a vision of the fictional Argylle she routinely sees during their adventures.

That’s a plot synopsis. It does nothing to convey the tone of Argylle. Nothing is quite what it seems. The screenplay by Jason Fuchs tosses in at least half a dozen plot developments that completely change the direction of the story. Crosses, double-crosses, and triple-crosses abound. Action scenes find characters doing stuff that defies the laws of gravity and physics. Agent Argylle pops in to give Elly advice and reassurance when necessary. In other words, nothing about the movie is linear or logical.

And yet, that quality is precisely what makes Argylle entertaining. The film gives itself permission to do literally anything, then takes advantage of that permission by throwing one wild, insane, unpredictable element after another at the audience. We’re in an age where few movies have originality. Everything is based on a previously existing property. Here’s a picture that writes its own rules, devising outlandish scenarios left and right. I found that refreshing.

Director Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Secret Service) is known for big, over-the-top action fare. He delivers violent mayhem with awesome visual style. A fight on a train is partially filmed from the POV of Elly as she’s trapped in the narrow bathroom; we only know what’s happening based on who flies past the door at any given second. A later sequence – which is the best thing I’ve seen onscreen so far this year – is a shootout amid beautiful plumes of brightly-colored smoke. That ice skating bit? Well, it’s stupid, but the film is sufficiently committed to its own outrageousness that the idea takes on a giddy quality. There are no boundaries, allowing for the freedom to go anywhere.

Lots of other disparate pleasures can additionally be found, from pop singer Dua Lipa as a femme fatale, to the comedic hijinks of Elly’s cat, to the appealingly quirky performances from Rockwell and Howard. Argylle won’t be for everyone. In fact, it may be for a very small subset of people. I’m among them, though. If you have a taste for movies that go for broke, you too might appreciate Vaughn’s playfully gonzo spy adventure.

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