Review of Fair Game (2010) by Paul D — 05 Aug 2013

Directed by Doug Liman (Swingers (1996), The Bourne Identity (2002) and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)), this is based on a true story which is based on two memoirs by the main characters in the film. It's a film about political betrayal, and dirty tricks played by those high up.

It has a good cast, and it's a good political drama brimming over with suspense and drama. Valarie Plume (Naomi Watts) has just been employed by the Central Intelligence Agency, working on top secret operations overseas.

Only her husband Joseph C. Wilson (Sean Penn), who has worked to assist U.S. ambassadors around the world, knows what she's doing. Wilson has been to Niger to determine whether uranium has been sold to Iraq, which he finds not to be the case.

However, the U.S. Government believe otherwise, and still decide to go to war. Wilson submits a piece to the New York Times claiming the government are wrong, while Plume's identity and job in the CIA is made public, putting their lives in danger.

It shows just how corrupt the U.S. Government truly are, and how they can ruin people's lives without giving two hoots. It does build a grim picture of Bush's government, but Watts and Penn give good performances as a husband and wife just doing their jobs, despite being hounded by the press, public and even their bosses.