Review of Fair Game (2010) by Christopher S — 29 Mar 2011

"Fair Game" is based on the memoir "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House" by Valerie Plame, Its directed by one of the better director's around in Doug Liman (Bourne Identity"."Mr. and Mrs. Smith").

This is an amazingly well put together movie. The screenplay is totally understandable and it doesn't fall from under it's own weight. You don't have to be knee deep in political blogs or a nightly c-span viewer to follow this great story. One of the best films about the process of going in to the Iraq War and the use of information at the time.

Naomi Watts, who I can usually take or leave in many of her other films, is Truly superb in this film. In the beginning she acts very convincingly as a strong, determined, iron-willed woman, mother, and wife who is very confident about herself and not willing to push into any demand that comes at her way. Later after the scandal is spread she slowly but surely devolves into a woman that is filling with desperation and fear, until she nearly loses control of her downward spiral. She doesn't overact but you can see her vulnerability and passion. She blends into the role so well that unlike Nicole Kidman you don't think of a movie star acting but you focus on the story. Virginia Madsen looks more like Valerie Plame but unfortunately is now too old.

Ditto with Sean Penn here. He is absolutely mesmerizing, as always, as Plame's husband Ambassador Joe Wilson. Soft spoken and charming when he needs to, but when he's angry he makes everyone feel the rage without becoming too overdone. Wilson as portrayed by Penn is a character who's not about to let this scandal get in the way of his family, so he decides to clear his and his wife's name by using the media and criticizing the government. Of course, his wife isn't happy about this and it causes more tension between them. Penn and Watts show terrific chemistry together that hasn't been lost since "21 Grams" and both of them vividly portray not politicians trying to get the truth, but rather more of a family trying to pull themselves together. So it's not entirely an espionage thriller like this film was sadly marketed as. The supporting actors are also great in their own right, from Bruce McGill, Michael Kelly and Noah Emmerich to even the all but short role of Sam Shepard. All serve a purpose and do a great job all around.

This film does pose a lot of questions that make one think during the movie about the purpose and cause of the Iraq war, the invasion and more importantly, the power and impact the US government has on their own people and the various ways they can abuse it on them to get whatever they want. And this is proved with the decaying lives of Plame and Wilson from American citizens to branded traitors. You can't imagine how they really felt, but Penn and Watts come really, REALLY close to it. In short, this is a superbly fine drama of the lives of the people in the limelight of this political scandal, with terrific performances and strong direction.