Written by Dilan Fernando

After their collaborations on the thriller film Kimi (2022) and the horror film Presence (2025) from earlier this year, writer David Koepp reunites with Steven Soderbergh to deliver an exhilarating entry into the spy genre, Black Bag (2025). With its taut runtime of 93 minutes, Black Bag shows Soderbergh giving a great lesson in how to make thought-provoking and entertaining films without having them run beyond their expiry dates. The film begins with an intertitle - ‘Friday’ with a long shot of George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbinder) walking into and through a London nightclub to meet an associate. Soderbergh who is also cinematographer and editor on the film keeps focus solely on George until he sees Philip Meacham (Gustaf Skarsgård) in a booth surrounded by women.

Meacham and George discuss matters outside; there’s a mole who’s gotten hold of a secret software-program with immeasurable power known as Severus, hoping to sell it to the highest bidder. On a short list of those in George’s British intelligence organization, there’s someone dear to George among those suspected. Meacham gives George a week to hunt for the mole before the sale can go through. Meacham asks George before saying goodbye, “...why’s it so easy to cheat for us?” George sternly suggests Meacham return home to his wife. The final shot of the opening sequence is an over-the-shoulder shot of a shadowy out-of-focus figure watching George leave the nightclub. David Holmes' rousing score is the pulsating undercurrent that gives the film its pace. Already within the first five minutes Soderbergh sets up the film’s major themes of loyalty, deception and relationships while quickly establishing the genre.

Steven Soderbergh approaches *Black Bag* with style, depth, and precision.

George sets forth his plan beginning on ‘Sunday’ as he prepares a dinner for his colleagues, to throw a rock into the water and watch the ripples. There’s a recurring motif throughout the film that Soderbergh emphasizes in the sequence of George preparing for dinner. The chickpeas George cooks steams up his glasses. George watches from the bedroom doorway as his wife Kathryn St. Jean (Cate Blanchett) gets dressed; she says aloud, “I can feel when you’re watching me.” There’s some charming banter the couple share while discussing money. George says, “It’s boring how much you talk about money.” Kathryn retorts, “It’s terrifying how much you don’t.” Soderbergh holds on an angled 50-50 medium side-profile shot of George and Kathryn holding each other’s gaze. Their amber colored bedroom lights act like beams that extend from George’s illuminated eyes looking into Kathryn’s, however, her eyes remain unseen. This is visual literacy that is layered and done with economy.

The bond that George and Kathryn share goes beyond their marriage of 35 years. Around the dinner table the other couples include field agent Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke) and his girlfriend surveillance operator Clarissa Debose (Marisa Abela); psychiatrist Dr. Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris) and her beau the newly promoted field agent Col. James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page). By comparison, George and Kathryn are both the eldest and wisest hence their lack of enthusiasm when discussing their relationship. Why? What are they trying to prove to anyone that they already haven’t proven to each other? The unspoken dialogue that George and Kathryn share through their body language is the key to understanding the complexity of their relationship especially given the line of work they’re in. It’s a deep emotional bond formed from an unwavering trust. George’s reputation for being a skilled surveillance operative and master of the polygraph helps to show the interiority of mining for subtle idiosyncrasies and reactions.

Soderbergh’s shot composition and editing in conjunction with Koepp’s well-written dialogue shows the synergy the two collaborators share, which mirrors the professionalism of George and Kathryn. This early dinner scene plays out like a high-stakes poker game with a group of professional gamblers. What makes a good gambler is their ability to read faces, figure the odds and know the stakes. What makes a great gambler is to bluff the stakes into their favour and have their opponents believe it was their doing. All that I’ve written about this film details the first 15 minutes or so, which is essential to understanding what makes this film so great and the best film of the year (so far).

Soderbergh’s tackling of this material shows the deep-rooted characterization that’s at the forefront of his films like Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), Out of Sight (1998), The Limey (1999), Erin Brockovich (2000), Traffic (2000) and No Sudden Move (2021). Chef Marco Pierre White once spoke of the distribution of Michelin stars twenty or thirty years ago saying, “What you had to do was prove consistency for many years before they dished out the stars. They had to believe in you. Secondly, you had to be behind your stove.” When compared to present-day cooking and the distribution of stars, saying, “As I say today, in my opinion, they dish out stars like confetti.” Soderbergh’s films may not have always been big box office hits or moneymakers, though he’s always had that same inextinguishable passion to create something of quality without pandering to audiences. As for other films and filmmakers who pale in comparison – black bag.

Dilan Fernando graduated with a degree in Communications from Brock University. ”Written sentiments are more poetic than spoken word. Film will always preserve more than digital could ever. Only after a great film experience can one begin to see all that life has to offer.“