Fair Game

FAIR GAME tells a story that everyone should know about, but by that criteria alone it cannot be called a good film. Just because a film talks about some noble event or cause, that doesn't make it good. (See: FOOD, INC. or THE ART OF THE STEAL). FAIR GAME, however, not only uses the medium of film to bring to light things we would not have otherwise known about, but employs concealed truths within the midst of its obvious truths. The film tells the true story of Valerie Plame Wilson, who was a spy for the CIA and was outed by the Bush Administration in retaliation to her husband's public explanations of the in-congruency between his own report on nukes in Niger, and that same report that the admn. used to further fear for the Iraq war. The film does a good job in two fields. The first is that it shows the effect of the media upon this couple, and the hell they're put through. More importantly, it shows why Plame Wilson acts in one way and why her husband acts in another. A lot of the credit there goes to Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, who play the couple brilliantly, accurately, and smoothly (meaning, without chewing up scenery purposefully). They give in sincere performances. The second strength of the film is that it brings to light why Plame Wilson was outed, and gives a pretty clear reason for it. After her outing, the film smartly shows the repercussions of that action concerning other agents abroad, and a group of scientists who were supposed to be taken out of Iraq prior to the outing. A good film.
Fair Game: ★★★