New Review: Fair Game

Secrets and Lies

It’s rough terrain now for the politically inclined film today. It has been well documented that most audiences today don’t have any use for films that attempt to decipher the American political system, particularly of the recent past. It is a shame, but sometimes they simply respond to the marketplace because a lot of the films that are produced border on sensationalism and feel rather shallow. For the most part, people have tended to have the same pattern with this film. Now that is the real shame because this is, surprisingly, one well made film that I think stands as one of the year’s better achievements.

This tawdry tale begins a month after the 9/11 attacks, and C.I.A. analyst and field agent Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) is part of the team gathering intelligence on whether or not the United States will enter into conflict with Iraq. Few people know that she’s an embedded agent, one of them being her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn). Wilson was contracted to investigate whether Iraq was purchasing uranium for Niger. Wilson said the intel was false, but was ignored when the narrative was pushed anyway to justify action. Wilson retaliated with an editorial and the White House, with the aide of Scooter Libby, pushed back themselves by outing Plame and creating a media frenzy.

I was confident the film had the potential to be good, but I was genuinely surprised at how well this film grabbed me pretty much from the beginning. Doug Liman directs this piece like a political thriller and crafts a lot of the intrigue and behind-the-scenes deal with tension and excitement. Liman, working off of a pretty good script, does a really good job of keeping this story interesting as it jets off to many places. I will say that the film doesn’t quite handle the political grandstanding and domestic life that consumes the last twenty minutes of the film, but there are many elements in play that try to make it work.

One of those much appreciated elements is the cast. Watts and Penn cash in well on their chemistry from 21 Grams, and they successfully craft a relationship that is strained but also knows how to deal with one another. It’s great to see them working so well together. Watts has a really grounded performance that feels genuine to the character. She doesn’t blow the role out the water, but she’s capable enough to take on such a stern and vulnerable role. I was more impressed with Penn here. I’ve been on record with saying he is, without any hyperbole, is the greatest actor of his generation, and this is one that he sells with so much authenticity. You really believe his dedication to clear his name and frustration with the system. Like Watts, it’s nothing spectacular but solid nonetheless. The supporting cast is reliable but limited, with the only one worth singling out being David Andrews who plays Libby. The role is very small and not showy at all, but Andrews sells the sleazy guy incredibly well.

The film does sag a little bit in the drawn out ending, but overall I think this is a pretty great film. It’s well crafted, smartly written and ably performed by a very capable ensemble, headlined by Watts and Penn. I really hope people give this film a chance, but I have a feeling that for most the time has already passed. It’s really unfortunate, and I think this will probably go down as one of the most underrated films of the year. If you have the opportunity, check it out before it disappears forever, lost in the political black hole where so many films end up.

A-