Black Bag is, undoubtedly, a spy movie — just not a normal one.
It follows a group of employees at an intelligence agency, but where most spy films rely on action to further the plot, Steven Soderbergh’s latest film is heavy on fast-paced dialogue.
Star Michael Fassbender told Yahoo Entertainment that when he read the script, it was immediately apparent to him that this was a movie about “psychological warfare.”
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“The story wasn’t going to be propelled forward by action pieces,” he said. “There are a couple of moments that are very visceral and violent, but it’s anchored around the intellectual chess that these people are playing.”
One of its most intense scenes features the six main characters gathered around a dinner table, verbally sparring.
The dinner party scene in Black Bag. (Claudette Barius/Focus Features/Courtesy of Everett Collection)
George (Fassbender) and Kathryn (Cate Blanchett), a married couple, host the event for their colleagues at the intelligence agency. They know there’s a traitor in their midst, but they don’t know if it’s one of their guests or even their spouse.
The film repeatedly discusses that a betrayal involving George and Kathryn would be devastating, as they’re fiercely devoted to each other. Blanchett lauded Fassbender for being “so available” and having “so much energy as an actor,” though he was playing a “reserved and contained coiled spring of a character.”
“There’s two things about chemistry — you can’t manufacture it if it’s not there,” she said. “Where the camera is and how those people are looked at is a big part of the creation of that.”
Blanchett said that Soderbergh obsessively worked to get the camera to reflect the tension between the six people at the table.
“He likes a problem, and he knew there was a problem for him as a filmmaker about how you make a … 12-page dinner table scene dynamic,” she said. “He’s very engaged and alive.”
Naomie Harris plays a psychiatrist at the agency who’s privy to many of the secrets held by her fellow dinner party guests. She told Yahoo Entertainment that the scene was the first the ensemble filmed together.
“We didn’t know each other well, but we bonded straight away,” she said. She explained that Soderbergh kept a tight filming schedule without much downtime each day, which didn’t allow for on-set “hijinks.”
“I really loved that intensity. It was almost like playing a game of badminton,” Harris added. “Everybody had to keep the ball in the air.”
Michael Fassbender in Black Bag. (Claudette Barius/Focus Features/Courtesy of Everett Collection)
Regé-Jean Page, who had a breakout moment as the romantic lead in the first season of Bridgerton, has played heartthrobs, badasses and badass heartthrobs. He told Yahoo Entertainment that he tries to “bring all three to every job” — including this one, where he plays a seductive (yet easily seduced) agent.
“It’s in different kinds of mixtures. We just change up the recipe of the cocktail,” he said. “It’s always the contrast and the variety that I’m looking for. That’s what gets me up in the morning.”
Marisa Abela and Tom Burke play a couple that struggles to balance loyalty and ambition, contrasting the duo played by Fassbender and Blanchett. Burke told Yahoo Entertainment that his character lives “a very improvised life.” It was easy for him to sink into the role because “there was a lot to connect to” in the “brilliant constellation of characters” at the table.
Black Bag is in theaters March 14.
