In 1980s Beirut, Mason Skiles is a former U.S. diplomat who is called back into service to save a colleague from the group that is possibly responsible for his own family's death. Meanwhile, a CIA field agent who is working under cover at the American embassy is tasked with keeping Mason alive and ensuring that the mission is a success.
Acting
Hamm's whiskey-soaked exhaustion carries every scene.
Writing
Tony Gilroy dialogue: dense, cynical, surprisingly funny.
Director
Brad Anderson
Jon Hamm
Mason Skiles
Rosamund Pike
Sandy Crowder
Shea Whigham
Gary Ruzak
Dean Norris
Donald Gaines
Mark Pellegrino
Cal Riley
Douglas Hodge
Sully
Alon Aboutboul
Roni Niv
Kate Fleetwood
Alice Riley
Leïla Bekhti
Nadia Skiles
Jonny Coyne
Bernard Teppler
Larry Pine
Frank Whalen
Sonia Okacha
Sondrine
Idir Chender
Karim
Mohamed Attougui
Raffik
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The screenplay sat in development hell for 27 years before Gilroy rewrote it; it was originally set in 1982 but filmed to feel deliberately timeless.
Lebanese critics noted the film barely features Lebanese perspectives, treating Beirut as backdrop rather than character—arguably the point, uncomfortably.
US
