A realistic and clever political thriller, an antidote to blockbusters

Spectators who feel this lack can find solace in Beirut an espionage thriller on a background of Lebanon just before its 1982 war with Israel, suggesting a less elegant cousin but also less preacher. The reconstruction of Steven Spielberg of the beginning of the Cold War in Bridge of Spies .

Beirut is directed by Brad Anderson, who touched on romantic comedies ( Next Stop Wonderland ) to psychological thrillers ( The Machinist ).

But as a personal statement, he may belong more to his scriptwriter and producer Tony Gilroy, a Hollywood pro model who has directed only a few films of his own, but works for the studios as a fixator to keep his hand in (he was involved in widely reported releases for prequel Star Wars Rogue One ). ] Given this background, it's no wonder Gilroy is fascinated by flim-flam men, such as the anti-hero's legal drama Michael Clayton and his comedy d & # 39; corporate espionage Duplicity as well as former American diplomat Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm) in Beirut .

Slickers charged with maintaining appearances, no matter what, these characters share a gift of joke that can be used to distract us from unpleasant truths. But in Gilroy's eyes, they're also needed to keep the wheels spinning. "When the discussions stop, the fighting begins," says Mason in The closest approach to Beirut from a thesis

It also makes sense that Gilroy makes team with Hamm, who became famous thanks to his role on TV on Mad Men but has not since become a movie star, perhaps because his rating as actor is weakness, masked by an authentic but uncomfortable charm

. 1972, Mason is the perfect badtail party guest, all smiles and easy to play (of course, he also sports favorites, one of the most faithful signifiers of the Hollywood era.)

But the film does not take long to burst. For once, he misses words because violence breaks out with tragic consequences for him personally.

A decade later, he is a washed-out drunkard working in labor relations in New England when he is recalled to his former home. A former CIA colleague (Mark Pellegrino) was kidnapped from the street by a splinter group of extremist Palestinians who insisted that Mason serve as a negotiator

Mason's reluctant acceptance of his mission, Mason finds himself again employed as a mediator. between several parties, including Palestinians and Israelis, but also his colleagues at the CIA, played by an alignment that includes Rosamund Pike, again employing the poker face that she used Gone Girl ] and Dean Norris, playing Breaking Bad

Meanwhile, on the streets, the threat or reality of violence remains everywhere. The exterior shots, filmed in Morocco, are full of fugitive juxtapositions that border the surreal: a couple who takes his wedding photo on a background of rubble, or tanks that crawl on a beach in front of parasols with bright stripes, with mbadive buildings concrete

More realistic than the average Hollywood political thriller, Beirut remains open to accusations of self-involvement, if not absolute racism, in his privilege from an American point of view . view. Mason commands our sympathy everywhere, while the "foreign" characters are threatening or impenetrable.

In the end, you might be wondering if it's really a film about Middle East politics, or if it's just a pretext White man on the payroll negotiates his midlife crisis . Again, is there a reason it can not be both?

Anderson and Gilroy at least show that they are aware of the problem, offering us sardonically two distinct purposes: a clbadic Hollywood fade, and an epilogue that reminds us of exactly how things happened through the continued in the real world.