Directed by Doug Liman. (3/5).
Living as we do now in the Obama era, with the Iraq war drawing to a close, a film about the lies told in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion feels strangely dated at times. This is especially so outside of America, where most people knew the war was totally unjustified as it was happening. Nevertheless, the distortion of the truth executed by Bush, Cheney and real villain Scooter Libby, as seen through the eyes of government agents (who had concluded the exact opposite of what the U.S. public was being told), retains an almost jaw-dropping effect.
A dramatic depiction of the events described by ex-CIA agent Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) and her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) in their respective autobiographies, Fair Game shows us the harsh nature of the highest levels of politics and espionage as people continually get caught up in their own agendas. Almost always they will choose not to care about the people whom their actions affect the most, whether their aim is to start a war or expose Government lies.
That said, the best thing about this film is the family story of Plame and her husband. The first half of the film feels like a rush through the lead-up to war, before Joe publishes a controversial article announcing that he never found evidence of weapons of destruction and Valerie’s identity is revealed. The camera predictably moves all over the place to try and capture the mania of the CIA environment, but I would have preferred if it had been more stationary and let the excellent cast do the work.
Naomi Watts and Sean Penn are both terrific as leads and their performances drive the second half of the film. The emotional toll of being fired by the CIA and having a husband take on the White House becomes too much for Plame, leading to a surprisingly moving finale. Penn in particular is absorbing as wannabe hero Wilson, too self-righteous to be truly likeable.
The hectic pace can be confusing and lead to some parts of the story being lost, and it is definitely a film made for an American audience but, if you’re still angry at George Bush or want a very different take on family drama, it’s worth a look.
Fair Game
