#148: Black Bag

Release Date: March 14th, 2025

Format: Theater (Cinemark Century Orange and XD)

Written by: David Koepp

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

3 Stars

Black Bag is director Steven Soderbergh in crowd-pleasing mode. The story, from an original script by David Loepp, is about George Woodhouse, a British intelligence officer tasked with finding a thief within his own agency. The stolen property? A software program called “Severus,” that, when installed, can target and infect the Russian government’s nuclear weapons network.

George Woodhouse is given five suspects, but the catch is that one of them is his own wife, Kathryn, a fellow secret agent. It’s here that the theme, and the meaning of the film’s title, presents itself.

How do secret agents live their personal lives and maintain relationships when their entire identity is enveloped in secrecy and misdirection? They can decline answering any question at any time by saying it’s compromising, or “black bag,” information.

“Where were you last night?” 

“Sorry, black bag.”

“Why are you traveling to Switzerland?”

“Sorry, black bag.”

The movie explores the effect of this corrupting autonomy. These characters lie, cheat, and steal - and the gimmick is that we can’t tell who is doing what. 

How effective is the gimmick? I was entertained, but not enthralled. It’s fun. Soderbergh’s camera and the film’s editing injects energy into this spy vs. spy caper, which plays out almost entirely through dialogue. And his actors’ performances are juicy and fun too.

In the end, Loepp’s script is wrapped with a nice little bow that has something to say about loyalty and love, which can transcend even our deepest doubts and secrets.