You would have to have been living under a rock for the last decade or so to not know who Joe and Valerie Plame Wilson are. Joe Wilson is a former Ambassador for the Clinton administration who’s wife, CIA covert agent Valerie Plame Wilson, had her name leaked in the press by the Bush administration in retaliation for an article Joe wrote that blew the whistle on their true attentions in Iraq. You see, due to his expert knowledge on the subject, Joe was selected by the CIA to go to Niger to find out if they were supplying weapons of mass destruction to Saddam Hussein, which is what basically led us into the Iraq war over eight years ago. Joe discovered that there was no evidence to conclude that there were ever any weapons of mass destruction in Niger and told the White House just that. But when the President gave his State of the Union Address that basically declared war on Iraq in 2002, he said exactly the opposite of Joe’s findings and used that as a reason to go to war. Furious, Joe wrote an article in the New York Times telling the truth, which of course upset the White House, especially the Vice President’s office. In retaliation, the Vice President’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby and deputy chief of staff for president Bush, Karl Rove, conspired to leak Joe’s wife’s name to the press, essentially destroying her career as a spy. Or at least that is the way it is depicted in “Fair Game.”
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The film relays the story of the Wilson’s very well and while it does lead you to side with them, it certainly doesn’t paint either as perfect characters, they are both flawed as well. Director Doug Liman allows the story to unfold in a natural way and it never feels forced or rushed. After films like “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and “Jumper,” it’s nice to see the director back in form and this is certainly his best work since “The Bourne Identity.” But I do wonder if in the hands of a stronger director, like a Martin Scorsese or a Stephen Soderbergh, if the film wouldn’t have been a bit better and elevated itself from being a very good movie to being a great one? The script by Jez and John Butterworth is very touching at points but suffers from a slow middle section, although it gets back on track by the end. Its really the incredible powerhouse performances by Naomi Watts and Sean Penn that make this film worth seeing, in addition to the fascinating real-life story that it depicts. Watts gives a fierce, quiet and gutsy performance as Valerie Plame Wilson. The actress succeeds in portraying both the character’s strong and vulnerable sides. Watts’ performance marks a great growth that the actress has had over the last few years and I think this performance definitely makes her a serious Oscar contender going into the awards season.
While Watts does carry a bulk of the film, equally good if not better, is two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn as former ambassador Joe Wilson. In some ways this is the perfect role for the actor and marries together both his love for politics and playing strong yet flawed characters. The actor really seems to be having fun playing Wilson and lights up the screen with his fiery and emotional performance. There are two scenes in particular where the couple is trying to socialize with their civilian friends and the subject of politics is brought up at the dinner table. You can see Watts’ Valerie shy away from the conversation, in order to keep her occupation a secret, but there is almost smoke coming out of Penn’s ears as his character tries not to blow up at his guest’s political ignorance. Penn has an ability to command a room, he posses a level of gravitas that can’t be reckoned with and that attribute becomes a real asset to him in this film.
Penn perfectly captures the cockiness of Joe Wilson, his almost “too smart for the room” attitude that begins to get him in trouble at times. But the actor also captures another side of the character: Joe Wilson the American patriot. Its very clear through Penn’s performance that the character, while possibly somewhat blinded by his own anger, did act out of what he felt was morally right. Not everyone involved with this scandal can say that. Penn gets so lost in his role, that there were moments when I forgot he was Sean Penn the actor and I actually thought I was watching Joe Wilson, the guy I’ve seen on MSNBC. While it probably won’t happen, I do believe that Penn deserves an Oscar nomination for this film. He is as good, if not better, in this than he was in “Milk” and this performance certainly blows away his work in “Mystic River,” those are the two films he has previously been awarded for. I think this is maybe the best male performance I’ve seen on screen this year.
Where the film succeeds is that not only is it a great political drama but it also serves as a fascinating character study, much like the classic “All The President’s Men.” While the political drama is fun and entertaining, the heart of the movie lays in the core relationship between the two characters. Sure the film is about the political scandal caused by the Bush administration but it’s really about how these two people, who love each other dearly, and their country, were able to survive the ordeal and keep their marriage intact. If anything, the actors and the filmmaker have succeeded in humanizing these real-life people who were essentially marginalized by the press early on in the scandal and were not vindicated until years later when the mood in our country started to shift and the truth began to become illuminated. The movie also displays, that contraire to some conservative pundits’ reports, Valerie Plame Wilson was an integral part of the CIA and the war in Iraq, not just a secretary. Further more, her name being leaked and her top-secret status getting revoked actually jeopardized our efforts in Iraq and may have cost innocent lives. In the end, Fair Game has a few structure issues but is a wonderful political thriller that features excellent performances by its leads and an important political message about doing what is right for your country, even when it means standing up to your own government!
