There are few examples in the world of cinema that are as thrilling as getting a new film from Steven Soderbergh. He’s a filmmaker that has continued to innovate and experiment throughout his entire career that exploded in 1989. In the decades that have followed, Soderbergh has been a filmmaker that, above all else, makes films that are bold and interesting and exciting. Never one to merely phone something in or treat a job strictly as “for hire”, Soderbergh brings a formalist spin to anything he attaches himself to. That’s certainly true of his first film of 2025, Presence, which elevated the haunted house film into something technically innovative and formally challenging, which is also intrinsically linked to the story itself. And now, with his second film of the year, Black Bag, Soderbergh has returned to the exciting world of the spy thriller. He’s played within the realm of the genre before, in 2011’s underrated Haywire, a film wholly committed to its depiction of the stark, cold, and isolating world of espionage. Now, again reunited with screenwriter David Koepp, Soderbergh turns his eye back to a world that exists primarily in the shadows. Only now, this idea of loneliness amidst the spy world is expanded upon by introducing his audience to a wedded couple at the center of it all.
George (Michael Fassbender) and Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) both work at NCSC, a British intelligence agency where secrecy is the name of the game. While it’s beyond encouraged in their professional world, the idea of outright deception is obviously something that should be deeply frowned upon in a marriage. Yet George and Kathryn find a way to make it work. All of their secrets get tossed into a playful safe word and space, the “black bag.” It’s also in this space that Koepp finds his angle at turning a thriller into one of the most romantic and entertaining films of the year. Fassbender and Blanchett are clearly having a blast exploring the blurry lines between espionage and romance, and Soderbergh’s direction matches that perfectly. One only has to consider the opening sequence of the film, carried out in a one-take not just to show off, but to indicate the blurred lines between some of the spaces this film occurs within. With his back to the audience, George calmly walks through a dark alleyway before breaking out into a crowd of people smoking outside a club. He matter-of-factly addresses the bouncer before descending into the crowded nightclub full of dancers, flashing lights, and loud music. Before we know it, he and his rendezvous are back outside, separated from the crowd that we saw only moments ago, discussing their personal relationships, the job, and the pain points found when the two happen to intersect. In one fell swoop, Soderbergh and Koepp have revealed to their audience the worlds these agents inhibit can very easily collide into one another. In fact, they quite often do.
If one begins to pull at any number of threads they see, everything could come crashing down. George says that “some things are best swept under the rug.” But the more we learn about this spy, the more we learn that even he can’t follow his own mantra. Most of the agents introduced in Black Bag are suave and collected. They could easily fit into any of the films in the 007 or Mission: Impossible franchises. But Koepp distinguishes each of them with a layer of humanity that gets at the root of what this film wants to say. As the film progresses and threads are pulled, Soderbergh captures this small ensemble coming apart at the seams. Yet all the while, each of them remains determined to retain that distinct poise which feels perfectly attuned to the tone of a spy thriller. But to pigeonhole Black Bag into a mere thriller would be a disservice! This unraveling of character is just one of the many examples of Koepp’s script blurring its own tones. This film is as much a black comedy and a devious romance as it is anything else. And that presents an inherently interesting watch that clocks in at right around 90 minutes. This is economical storytelling, opting to avoid getting bogged down in the nitty-gritty details of the MacGuffin at its center and instead focus on the relationships between characters. Although it may be a bit slow-moving at times and feel dense due to its constant presentation of ideas initially, the film makes way for a series of thrilling narrative turns that feel right at home alongside many of Soderbergh’s (and Koepp’s) films.
Throughout the film, several characters wish to know how George and Kathryn have been able to pull off their marriage for so long. While the others find their relationships riddled with infidelity and an inability to trust, the two central characters are devoted to one another. We see where they are similar. We also see where they are different. It’s a joy to see two performers known for their complete commitment to their characters blend into a singular unit. The irony of it all? Much of Black Bag is surveilling and interrogating this unit, hoping to capture a mistake or something that reveals it’s all a sham. Take the scene where George and Kathryn host a Sunday dinner for their colleagues. As George prepares it, one can tell that the precision and calculation of his spy tactics has made its way into the kitchen and dining room. It’s clear as day, and Fassbender performs it perfectly in the way his laser-focused gaze remains on his vegetable dicing or his stirring or the splash of sauce that unfortunately made it onto his perfect shirt. And as Soderbergh brings us to the dining room, one can’t help but feel that the lighting is wholly intentional not just from a production design perspective, but also from a character one. There are ulterior motives at play within this dinner party after all. It certainly feels like the lights strewn across the dinner table being bright and blown-out make themselves feel akin to those found in an interrogation room. This loving couple, despite putting on the show of being able to separate their personal and professional lives, have become too intertwined amongst one another and their spy personas to even notice that they don’t know another way of life. Or perhaps they do notice and revel in the titillating thrill of it all.
As such, the idea of surveillance in Black Bag takes on several different forms. Each one is as exciting and intriguing of a concept for a film as the last. That Koepp tosses them all into one rapid-fire script certainly feels like a self-imposed challenge. But it’s ultimately one that pays off. George makes it frighteningly clear that he hates liars. One gets the sense that he doesn’t see surveillance as an infringement on privacy. It instead feels like he views it as a way to serve out moral justice. But we also see he isn’t afraid to alter his own views on surveillance in the name of manipulation and currency. Can life actually be lived properly if it’s viewed through the careful, overtly pragmatic, and clinical lens many of the characters in Black Bag use? It seems like many would argue against this. Yet for George and Kathryn, it works. They have found a rhythm that may seem demented from the outside looking in. But one cannot deny the sheer adoration and peace which Fassbender and Blanchett find in one another’s performances. It anchors the film in such a fun way, sending audiences out of Black Bag with a devilish grin on their faces… and perhaps a paranoid look over their shoulders.
Focus Features will release Black Bag nationwide on March 14th.