titlefairgame

Fair Game, directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr and Mrs Smith) is a political and personal drama. It is based on the books, ‘Fair Game’ by Valerie Plame Wilson, a real-life CIA covert officer and, ‘The Politics of Truth’ by her husband Joe Wilson, a retired USA ambassador.

The film opens in Washington, where Valerie (Naomi Watts) is given the task of infiltrating Saddam Hussein’s weapons program. It is a crucial period in the lead-up to the second Iraq War. Meanwhile, Joe (Sean Penn) is dispatched by the USA Government to Niger, an African country, where he had previously made official contacts, to write a report detailing the purchase of a large consignment of uranium by the Iraqi Government.

When Joe’s evidence suggested that Iraq was not amassing weapons of mass destruction, he was ignored by the Bush administration. He published his findings in The New York Times. This led to a high-ranking Bush administration official (later exposed as Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby), exposing Valerie’s identity as a member of the CIA, thus endangering her family and many of her associates.

Jez and John-Henry Butterworth’s script reveals how the personal effect on their lives in fact outweighed the political. The Wilsons received death threats, the loss of friends and their careers. Both reacted differently. Joe went public declaring that the revelation of his wife’s identity was a criminal act. However, Valerie was reluctant to be thrust into the spotlight as she had always been a secretive person, living the life of a venture capitalist, or so her friends were led to believe.

Watts delivers the performance of her career. She was considered for the part by the producers because of her, ‘easy-going femininity and steely calm’. Penn also gives the performance of his career, on a par with Harvey Milk. They work very well together. They are well-supported by Valerie’s father, Sam (Sam Shepard), who advised her that it was more important to fight for her marriage, than her career.

Fair Game is a well-constructed yarn which was difficult to research as a lot of the information was classified. Some of the names were changed and composite characters brought in to the story to represent the types of intelligence sources that the Wilsons would have encountered. Liman delivers a believable interpretation of a headline story without entering into the fray with a political agenda. This is not The Bourne Identity, but just as thrilling.

// SALT

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What happens when a government doesn't play fairly? War actually. It's also bedrock for a solid thriller based on the horrendous miscarriage of justice perpetrated by the late Bush administration. Remember when a CIA agent was outed back in 2003? Valerie Plame was the fall gal for her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson. He'd been sent to Niger to check out reports that large quantities of yellow cake had been sent to Iraq for enrichment. You know, WMD's... He found nothing, and like many other people who failed to find things that didn't exist, his report wasn't one the administration wanted to read. When they went to war irrespective of truth, and he came out swinging. Now a liability, the best way to neutralise Wilson was to neutralise his wife. Of course it was illegal, but these guys were above the law. Or so they thought. What they hadn't counted on was the volatile force that was Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame.

Liman directed The Bourne Identity and certainly knows his way around the thriller genre. Fair Game is a gutsy, angsty kind of film dripping in moral outrage and righteous indignation. There was no need to stray far from fact as the truth was shocking enough. Central to his success are two exceptional performances – there's talk of Oscar nominations for both Watts and Penn. It's the kind of material the Academy laps up, and in fairness, is something of a heartfelt cause for Penn who has long campaigned on the film's essence: democracy only belongs to people willing to stand up for their rights. His closing soliloquy kicks this point home and gives him an opportunity for one of his finer moments.

Yet this is not Milk. Penn does indignation well, but husband and wife border on one note characterisation and Liman's attempts to flesh out their personalities with family dynamics and a failing marriage is not entirely successful. He then lands something of an own goal with relentless use of queasy cam that brings nothing, absolutely nothing to this or any part of the story. What, seven years ago, served as an emotional barometer for Bourne now looks tired and pointless. This intrusive device only depletes the film's emotional core so while it hits as a thriller, it misses as a drama. Unfortunate given the exceedingly rich storyline it mines. Ultimately Fair Game wraps up as a solid entertainment that hints at untapped greatness still lurking inside.

// COLIN FRASER



STUFF

CAST
Sean Penn
Naomi Watts
Sam Shepard
Lewis Libby

DIRECTOR
Doug Liman

SCREENWRITER
Jez Butterworth
John-Henry Butterworth

COUNTRY
USA

RATING / RUNTIME
MA / 106 minutes

AUSTRALIAN
RELEASE DATE
November 18, 2010
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Stacks Image 198
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