Married to the Job

A slick thriller makes monogamy look hot.

WE BEGIN WITH Michael Fassbender's back to the camera in an unblinking tracking shot from city street to subterranean club, and it's immediately clear that we are in the hands of a master. In this case, Steven Soderbergh, whose Black Bag is his second theatrical release of the year, after the ghost story Presence. His camera graces Fassbender's George, an intelligence agent arriving for a meeting with a vaping Gustaf Skarsgård, who is passing along a list of names-suspected traitors involved in stealing Severus, a top-secret malware that destabilizes nuclear facilities and could lead to international disaster. Between voluminous drags, Skarsgård's Philip complains about his wife's bitter reaction to discovering his infidelity. It's apparently all too easy to cheat and lie in their line of work, but George is better known for his "flagrant monogamy" with his wife and fellow intelligence agent, Kathryn, played by Cate Blanchett. In a chocolate-brown wig, Blanchett is more than just a sight to behold-she's a fierce, enchanting woman who matches George's cunning, so he has made his life a shrine to her. "I can feel when you're watching me," she hums while getting ready one evening, George rapt over her shoulder.

"Sorry," he says, almost embarrassed by his own wanting. "I like it," she smirks.

Their relationship is enviable to the vipers around them until Kathryn's name appears on Philip's list. She is under suspicion, and George may have to sacrifice his marriage to maintain his sterling reputation at work.