Fair Game (2010)

"When did the question move from 'Why are we going to war?' to 'Who is this man's wife?'"

Fair Game takes the huge media storm of a few years ago surrounding the leaked identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, and focuses on the strain placed on her and her family by the intentional exposure of her identity by government officials in retaliation for her husband's infamous New York Times op-ed piece. 

Movies based on actual, heavily politically-charged events usually aren't my thing, but Naomi Watts as Valerie and Sean Penn as her husband really do an excellent job of conveying this serious, and at times troubling, story. Watts portrays Plame as an intelligent and capable woman who is easy to sympathize with. As she's effectively blocked out from her job at the CIA and her personal life begins to swiftly unravel, she keeps a steely resolve that's wholly believable. And while Sean Penn doesn't have to stretch far for his character, he also makes him feel like a genuine person. Great acting from them both to compliment the solid script. 

Anyone even casually interested in the Valerie Plame scandal should check this out, as it's a pretty darn good (and thought-provoking) adaptation of a dark time in our country's recent history. 

Fmovies: Valerie Plame Wilson (Naomi Watts) is a woman with double life: she is the wife of the former Ambassador Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) and mother of two children. But she is also and efficient CIA Operations Officer working in the Nonproliferation Center and in charge of several operations.

In 2003, when Bush administration manipulates the information relative to massive destruction weapons to justify the invasion of Iraq, Joe Wilson writes an article in the New York Times criticizing the government and telling that the intelligence research had been manipulated. In reprisal, the government leaks Valerie's identity to discredit Joe, affecting their professional and private lives and almost destroying their marriage.

"Fair Game" is a bold film about the life of Valerie Plame Wilson, who has had her life destroyed by Bush administration in part of the farce about the existence of massive destruction weapons in Iraq to justify the invasion of that nation. But it seems that later the Wilson family wrote two books and won lawsuits against members of the government and they might have resolved their lives at least financially speaking.

The film glances also at the lives of Iraqi scientists that trusted on Valerie and were murdered by the Iraqi secret service, but does not show the fate of the civilian population that had their country bombed and invaded due to a farce. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Jogos de Poder" ("Power Game")

From the opening scene in Malaysia to the mines of Niger and then to the streets of Baghdad, "Fair Game" begins as an espionage thriller, a "Bourne" film without the obligatory car chases, shootouts and fights, but rather, with a woman who uses her brains and intellect.

Once the film shifts its focus back in the United States of America, the film takes a slight turn to the dramatic route and thus may seem melodramatic with this married people's lives being tinkered with and with no one but each other to help them. Having said that, "Fair Game" (no, not that dreadful Cindy Crawford/William Baldwin cheeseball) is a remarkably well-crafted political thriller that is driven home with outstanding, terrific performances by both Naomi Watts and especially Sean Penn.

Whether you believe the many questions posed in the film are truth or merely lies (whether the agency really did take that drastic measure to cover up what the government did not want to hear to prevent the war... or is this all propaganda from the start?), I really can't say, because this happened in another country far away from my home, so I have no right to say whose side I'm on.

Watts plays CIA agent Valerie Plame whose cover gets blown and who gets blamed for the leak of wrong information to the White House, who uses said information to invade Iraq. Is this all true? Suppose it is, given that the news footage of both at-the-time President Bush and Vice President Cheney look strikingly foreshadowing when compared to the events in the movie - this is meant to provoke outrage at the government's so-called "ignorance and stupidity" so they say, so what? I'm not saying anything to make myself sound like I'm on the wrong line, nor am I saying anything to disprove the film's "facts" either. I'm just stating that this is a great drama, no matter what you believe.

See, the thing with drama is that fact can and will be fictionalized so that it may be accepted easily by the ever-interested audience. "Fair Game" may be slow-paced and devoid of action sequences ala Doug Liman's previous blockbuster efforts, but here not a moment lost my interest, even the dramatic ones between Watts and Penn, as they ignite the screen with fiery performances, as this political scandal isn't only affecting their jobs and their reputations, it's also affecting their love life. And it's crumbling as things go from bad to worse in this film.

Watts is superb in this film. In the beginning she acts very convincingly as a strong, determined, iron-willed woman, mother, and wife who is very confident about herself and not willing to push into any demand that comes at her way. Later after the scandal is spread she slowly but surely devolves into a woman that is filling with desperation and fear, until she nearly loses control of her downward spiral. Ditto with Sean Penn here. He is absolutely mesmerizing, as always, as Plame's husband Ambassador Joe Wilson. Soft spoken and charming when he needs to, but when he's angry he makes everyone feel the rage without becoming too overdone. Wilson as portrayed by Penn is a character who's not about to let this scandal get in the way of his family, so he decides to clear his and his wife's name by using the media and criticizing the government. Of course, his wife isn't happy about this and it causes more tension between them. Penn and Watts show terrific chemistry together that hasn't been lost sinc

Fair Game fmovies. "Fair Game" is a film directed by Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith") based on the memoir "Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House" by Valerie Plame. Sean Penn is back after taking a two-year acting break since his second Best Acting Oscar for "Milk" in 2008. He plays the character of Politician Joe Wilson alongside Naomi Watts' portrayal of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Together these two tell the true story behind the weapons of mass destruction scare in 2002 and 2003 in Iraq that ultimately lead the United States to war. Valerie Plame is in the middle of the investigation of WMDs in Iraq. In order to learn more about the possible WMDs the government has Valerie's husband Joe travel as an ambassador to Niger in order to get information about the sale of uranium from Niger to Iraq. Joe learns that there is not going to be a sale but the government twists the story. After viewing the State of the Union Address Joe Wilson decides to write an article in the New York Times stating the truth behind what he found in Niger challenging the White House directly. In response, the government declassifies Valerie's status as a CIA agent making her "Fair Game" and putting her directly in the public eye in order to bring shame to her husband and her family. This sparks a fire within Joe to fight the White House, but also begins to tear him and his wife apart.

"Fair Game" allows Naomi Watts and Sean Penn to let loose and take over the screen with their acting talents. Watts doe a very good job with her role portrayal of hard shelled Valerie Plame. She is able to create the stubborn exterior of Plame while showing her emotional side deep within. Congratulations is in order for her being able to stand out while on screen with Hollywood superstar and Academy favorite Sean Penn. All of the talk about the film has been directed towards Watts as Oscar season approaches, but it would be no surprise if Penn receives an Oscar birth as well. He is phenomenal in the film creating a very unique character breaking through the clichés that could have been. Both of these actors are able to give the film heart and show the strength that the couple had in order to fight the corrupt government sector leading to the fall of Scooter Libby.

The film is slow to start as the back story is built however, while the characters of Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson are developed completely all of the other characters seem to be left behind. They come off as just walking through the motions making it very hard to connect and differentiate between them. This can be attributed to one of two things. Either the acting is less than adequate, or there are so many characters that Watts interacts with at the CIA it are hard to put a name with any of the faces.

"Fair Game" is a political thriller that needed to be made. However, it is your job as the audience to reach out and see it because of its limited film release. Go see it now in order to learn about the story and note that a Best Picture Oscar nomination may be waiting for this dark horse of this year's award season.

Fair Game follows in the tradition of All The President's Men as presenting a probing look into an important political issue in the form of a crackling thriller. Director Doug Liman uses his Bourne Identity/Mr & Mrs Smith skills to move the true story of exposure of Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts), the wife of US senator Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), as a CIA undercover agent by the Bush Administration at breakneck speed. Plame's research based on her contacts in Iraq had put serious doubts on the existence of WMD in Iraq, which was not in line with White House's view point. They thus considered her "fair game" for discrediting and public exposure. Fair Game is fascinating for all those interested in the mechanism of power and use/abuse of it; and is also a riveting piece of film making. In my view it's Liman's best film to date.

War. Media. Spin. Economics.

We must be reminded that the media is a scathing dog, a venomous snarler that can be fighting for you or against you. The witnesses to this battle of info-rage get brainwashed, we get brainwashed, and become the court of public opinion.

While the movie does not address the reasons the war was started, it brilliantly displays how official bullshit can be thrown over us like a comforting shroud, and that shroud can stimulate our anger as well as justify our anger.

Brilliantly performed by Sean Penn and the beautiful Naomi Watts. I am humbled by their talent and dedication. I am humored by the desperate IMDb rants of those whom still think the war was a 'good' thing - I say to you ranters, wake up for your own good :)

Governments lie, don't forget it.