Review of Nothing But the Truth (2008) by Drew S — 21 Jun 2010

Far less wishy-washy than The Contender, Nothing But the Truth is a similar look at staying committed to a principle despite personal cost.

Rod Lurie has a notable gift for drawing strong performances out of his cast, especially his actresses. His feminocentric look at politics is a refreshing change from what you'd come to expect from many movies about the government, as they tend to be men's games. Regardless of gender, his actors always seem to have a very sophisticated grasp of the politics they're dealing with. Joan Allen was great in The Contender, and predictably, Vera Farmiga is powerful as a fictional reimagining of Valerie Plame who's too angry to show that she's terrified. The real surprise is Kate Beckinsale. We all remember her from her crappy movies, like that Underworld slough and Van Fucking Helsing, neglecting to remember that she's actually had a few pretty substantial roles in some smaller indies. Here she gets to look something big in the eye and stare it down, and she is incredibly admirable. She's prone to letting her character get weepy a little too often (though not when it "counts," whatever that means), but the movie regularly confronts her with the personal toll of the choice she's making, which would make it understandably difficult on anyone in her situation. Who wouldn't cry at the thought of being stranded in jail, missing the best years of their child's life? On the levels of technical proficiency, she's controlled and intense. In terms of what casting Beckinsale herself actually brings to the table, you get someone who is easy to underestimate at first glance, which is subsequently reconciled with an admission of greater but not limitless strength, and finally proves herself unshaken by circumstances that she really can't win against. In that way, there are some parallels between the actress and the character here. Maybe I'm giving her too much credit, but I was truly impressed, and I hope to see more of such work from her in the future.

The rest of the movie? It's a glossy, well-oiled look at journalistic shield law, which eventually unfurls into a greater examination of civil rights and our freedoms versus our security. This isn't really unique, potent or colorful enough to become all that valuable to most people, but it's a surprisingly swarthy political thriller in an era that's really turning a blind eye to them. It's a shame that the movie's distribution company buckled, essentially stranding this with a DVD release, but I wonder if it would have made that much money in the theaters anyway.