Denzel Washington doesn’t usually play downright evil guys. But when he does, he does it well. Perhaps too well, considering that his despicable portrayal of a dirty cop in 2001’s Training Day won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.
In Safe House, Washington is back to his devious ways, this time as Tobin Frost, a rogue Central Intelligence Agency defector who has been trading government secrets for the past decade. Though he has evaded capture by living completely off the grid during this time, he suddenly walks into a United States Embassy building in South Africa and turns himself in while being chased by people who don’t want his latest intel acquisition getting into the wrong hands. Seems crazy, right? Well, Frost is a bit crazy, which is partially why he’s been able to get away with the damage he’s done since leaving the CIA.
Frost is soon taken to a safe house, where aspiring agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) has been waiting for his opportunity to break out of this dead-end position and prove his worth. He immediately recognizes Frost, not only as the most dangerous man in the world, but also as just the opportunity he’s been looking for. But before Frost even has a chance to be debriefed, the safe house is attacked by the same mercenaries that were after Frost at the beginning of the film. Weston and Frost escape, and for the rest of the film they strike a balance between looking out for each other while also maintaining their own self perservation. Frost’s objective is, of course, to regain his freedom and make a lot of money off the information he has obtained. Weston’s is simply to bring Frost in, establishing his career as a CIA agent with the capture of one of the world’s most wanted men.
It is this balancing act that keeps the viewer engaged, with the relationship between the two men turning into a passing of the torch of sorts as Weston refuses to back down from Frost’s intimidating demeanor. Safe House‘s tension is also elevated by the subtle use of sounds, with the faint buzzing of flies becoming just as important as a deafening gunshot. But the interaction between Washington and Reynolds (much like that between Washington and Ethan Hawke in Training Day) is a palpable torch passing of another kind as the veteran actor helps elevate the already established younger actor to new levels.
Though the nature of their relationship makes them natural adversaries, Frost and Weston grow to respect each other, with the younger agent learning that if he really wants to move up in such a cutthroat business, he’ll have to resort to some pretty nefarious acts in order to keep up with all the other self-interested members of the agency. But in much the same way the two men have to balance their own best interests, Weston eventually figures out a way to get what he wants without completely betraying his country (and he own ethics) the way Frost felt compelled to do.
Safe House. Directed by Daniel Espinosa. Starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. Rated R. www.nooneissafe.com.
Review by Jonathan Williams