Review: 'Black Bag' is a stylish, sly and steamy spy movie where the stars and the set design are equally alluring

You’re supposed to judge a movie not by the scenery but by what the actors are doing in front of that scenery — but in the case of Steven Soderbergh’s sleek spy thriller “Black Bag,” both are sexy as hell.

It’s London, and our main venue is the supremely appointed townhouse where married spies George Woodhouse (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn St. Jean Woodhouse (Cate Blanchett) live, cook extravagant meals and deliver urbane, super-hot endearments to each other. Example: Kathryn catches George watching her get dressed, and when he says he’s sorry, she replies, “I like it.”

George has been given a top-secret — or “black bag” — assignment by another operative, Philip Meacham (played by Gustaf Skarsgård, yet another of those Skarsgårds). A super-sensitive and potentially deadly bit of software called Cerberus has gone missing, and Meacham has a list of five people within British intelligence who might have taken it. One of those on the list is Kathryn.

George, whose expertise is in polygraph tests and detecting lies, and Kathryn host a dinner party. Unknown to Kathryn, the guests are the other four people on Meacham’s list. They include two agents, Freddie Smalls (Tom Burke) and James Stokes (Regé-Jean Page), staff psychologist Dr. Zoe Vaughan (Naomie Harris), and data analyst Clarissa Dubose (Marisa Abela). Not so coincidentally, James and Zoe are dating, and so are Freddie and Clarissa. 

During a party game, Clarissa reveals that she knows Freddie is cheating on her. When Freddie denies it, George drops the details of which hotel and at what times Freddie is having his affair.

At the end of the party, George makes an odd discovery: A used movie ticket in Kathryn’s wastebasket. Could this be evidence of Kathryn being unfaithful to him?

Those are just some of the clues — or are they diversions? — that Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp (the director’s collaborator on the recent “Presence” and “Kimi”) plant on this movie’s winding path, which is smart both in its twists and in its gorgeous production design. (Credit here goes to Philip Messina, who also worked magic for Soderbergh on “Erin Brockovich,” “Traffic,” and his three “Ocean’s” movies.)

Soderbergh’s ensemble is also smart, stylish and as hot as six human beings have a right to be. Fassbender and Blanchett lead the way, of course, with their slightly sinister take on Nick and Nora Charles — and give special attention to Abela (who played Amy Winehouse in the biopic “Back in Black”), who makes tapping on a keyboard look like foreplay.

Soderbergh brings a coiled tension to the action and verbal gymnastics of “Black Bag” — particularly in a tight sequence where George gives polygraph tests to four of his suspects, which is a masterclass in editing and camerawork. (Soderbergh, under pseudonyms, takes on the jobs of cinematographer and editor, along with directing.) The best part is that Soderbergh does this all so seamlessly that a viewer can admire the technique while not losing the thread of the narrative. How does Soderbergh do it? I’m afraid that’s a secret.

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‘Black Bag’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, March 14, in theaters everywhere. Rated R for language including some sexual references, and some violence. Running time: 95 minutes.