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By MANOHLA DARGIS

• Directed by: Ben Affleck
• Rating: R (Violence/Profanity)

Review Summary

At one point in “Argo,” a smart, jittery thriller about a freakish and little-known chapter of the Iranian hostage crisis, a Hollywood producer says that history starts as farce and ends up as tragedy. He seems, as someone rightly points out, to have it backward. But as a professional dissembler, he knows better. Because much like the revolutionary shock troops who seized the United States embassy on Nov. 4, 1979, and turned the crisis into gripping political theater watched by the entire world — tune in tomorrow when America goes on trial, with the special guest star the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini — the producer knows that historical events alone don’t cut it. You need lights, camera, action. — Manohla Dargis

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