Review of Nothing but the Truth (2008) by Joel M — 07 Jun 2009

The following film deposition of my sincere appreciation of the political thriller "Nothing But The Truth" is nothing but the truth. I was allured by Writer-Director Rod Lurie's profound narrative on the plight, will, and sacrifice a journalist will take to not reveal her source of a story.

The beautiful & brainy Kate Beckinsale plays that journalist, Rachel Armstrong. Rachel works for a D.C. paper. "Nothing But The Truth" lies within Rachel's newspaper story on outing Erica Van Doren, a CIA Agent who had pertinent proof of political transgressions by the United States government of a U.

S. counterattack against Venezuela. Armstrong gets sentenced to jail by a hasty judge for not willing to reveal her source of the newspaper story; no thanks to a callous prosecuting attorney Patton Dubois.

Rachel does have supportive human resources in her devoted editor-supervisor Bonnie Benjamin & her commending First Amendment defense attorney Alan Burnside. As her jail time prolongs, the same cannot be said for her restless husband Ray Armstrong, and her melancholy son Timmy.

There are many cerebral components to "Nothing But The Truth" which makes it one of the most powerful films of the year. I can detect that some of you might think otherwise, but I challenge you to do a "lie detector" test on me on my admiration for "Nothing But The Truth".

Lurie, who also helmed the critical darling flick "The Contender", continues to be the top contender in directing & scribing political-brawny thrillers. Beckinsale's performance as Armstrong is the most empowering I have seen by a female actress in 2008.

She should no longer be entrapped in the underground of acting. With her riveting performance this year in "Snow Angels" and her emotionally-driven work here, she has moved to the top of the list as the supreme B&B (Beauty & Brains) actress.

The supporting acting efforts of "Nothing But The Truth" were nothing but the best. Vera Farmiga was vera good playing the ousted CIA operative Erica Van Doren; Alan Alda was commanding as the amending counsel Burnside; David Schwimmer was great as Rachel's lover Roz (oops wrong Schwimmer acting pool), I mean as Rachel's husband Ray; Angela Basset was her usual respectable Basset case as the supportive editor Bonnie; Noah Wyle had some E.

R. (Effective Rigorousness) for his role as Avril Aaronson, the newspaper attorney; and Matt Dillon did not crash & burn as the persistent prosecutor "General" Patton Dubois. Now what bothers me is that this thespian group was not nominated for a Best Acting Ensemble by the Screen Actors Guild! I guess sometimes the truth hurts! "Nothing But The Truth" is undoubtedly one of my favorite films of the year! Can you handle my truth? ***** Excellent.