Let the “Plame Games” begin…
The H-Bomb: Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few years, you know the story: Valerie Plame (played in the film by Naomi Watts) was a CIA Agent who worked in various Middle Eastern counter-terrorist affairs until she was outed in the media by someone in the Bush White House, after her husband, former ambassador Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) wrote an op-ed piece calling out the Administration for altering his report about whether or not Saddam purchased uranium from Niger. The film essentially follows the couple before and during the leak of Plame’s identity, as well as the fallout afterwords and the effects it had on their professional lives, as well as their relationship.
I debated internally whether or not I really wanted to review this film, because to me, reviewing politically loaded movies such as this one always ends up on that slippery slope. Aside from my personal discomfort in openly discussing my own political views, I know I will inevitably piss off people, no matter which side of an “agenda movie” I come down on. So, for this review, I shall do my damnedest to keep whatever political baggage I may, or may not, have concerning the subject matter, at bay and judge the film objectively on it’s own dramatic merits.
That said, “Fair Game” (not to be confused with that God awful Billy Baldwin/Cindy Crawford movie from the 90’s), which just hit DVD this past week, is a very solid, impeccably acted film that intelligently covers a number of still topical and rather disturbing events from our recent history. Based on books by both Plame and Wilson, the film makes no bones that it is definitely in their corner, but it doesn’t really come across as being overly preachy or heavy-handed. Yeah, the Bush Administration is not exactly shown in a flattering light (Scooter Libby is depicted as a real mustache twirler), but the movie seems far more interested in showing how the characters cope with the chain of events than it does in beating us over the head with any kind of political message.
Again, both Watts and Penn, in their third film together (following “21 Grams” and “The Assassination of Richard Nixon”), are undeniably terrific. Watts plays Plame as a woman of quiet dignity, dedicated to both her job and her family. She comes across as a non-partisan professional committed to serving her country, and she makes us feel her astonishment and loss of faith when she learns that she was outed over something as petty as a political reprisal.
As her hubby Wilson, Penn plays Plame’s polar opposite. He’s hot-headed, opinionated, and has absolutely zero qualms about expressing his opinions, especially when he has a hefty dose of liquor in him. He also comes off as being far less saintly than Plame. Once the fit hits the shan with his wife, he seems just a little too eager to go out and soak up the spotlight, thus making himself look less like a virtuous whistle blower and more like an attention whoring blowhard. I honestly believe that both the leads delivered award caliber performances. To me, they both became the real life people they’re portraying… it’s just too bad they were completely over-looked this awards season.
The film was directed, as it’s been advertised, by “The Bourne Identity” director, Doug Liman. He gives the movie a quasi-documentary look and feel, and for the most part, it works. It’s a true life thinking man’s thriller along the same lines of… say, “All the President’s Men”, although I don’t feel it’s on the same level. While “Fair Game” held my attention, it never really gripped me. Maybe it’s that the events covered are only so compelling, maybe it’s that for the most part I felt like I was only being told one side of the story, I can’t quite say. I just know that I didn’t find it to be as engaging as I felt it could have been.
So, even though I think it could have been better, I do feel that it’s a fairly decent film; no more, no less. If you’re of the liberal persuasion, you’ll find many of your feelings on the topic reinforced. If you’re a conservative and believe that Plame and Wilson were just a couple of phonies playing victims, then I would suggest setting your politics aside and try to appreciate the human drama on display. Regardless of what your stance is, I do believe that “Fair Game” is worth two hours of your time.
H-Man, I watched this the other night and I think your review nailed it, I too found it hard to be completely immersed in the story, because it was a very one-sided showing of the events, where pretty much anyone in Bush's circle was made a buffoon, at one point calling an intelligence officer a tool . . . things like that I thought would have been more believable had they really shown more of why the tools were moving . . . so to speak. The actors had me loving and hating them at all the right places, and that is all I ever ask, so they did a terrific job there.
I was not a frothing at the mouth conservative during this affair, but I was hardly in the Plame corner, but after seeing this film, it really did bring the human element to the forefront of HUMINT, and that aint all bad.