“Beirut” is a complicated movie about complicated people in a complicated situation. (Bear with me.) Its narrative complexity is nothing if not constant. If screenwriter Tony Gilroy’s objective was to encourage audiences to pay attention to the details, then he’s probably succeeded.
In short: “Beirut” revolves around former U.S. diplomat Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm), a drunk and wayward “expert negotiator” who was booted out of government work at the tail-end of 1972. During the intervening decade, Cal (Mark Pellegrino, “Supernatural”), an ex-colleague of Mason’s, has been taken hostage in Lebanon. The hostages have requested that Mason be the CIA’s point person to forge a deal.