Fair Game is not a remake of the action-romp starring Adam Baldwin and Cindy Crawford, but is actually a 2010 thriller directed by The Bourne Identity’s Doug Liman and is based on Valerie Plame's memoir, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House.
Plot
We follow Valerie Plame Wilson (played by Naomi Watts) during her time as a covert CIA officer at the start of the war in Iraq. During the investigation to whether or not Saddam Hussein does indeed have weapons of mass destruction, Mrs Wilson’s husband, former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson (played by Sean Penn), is sent to Niger, Africa, where he finds no such evidence.
In retribution to Mr Wilson’s published findings, What I Didn’t Find in Africa, a member of the Bush administration reveals Mrs. Wilson's covert status, and wackiness ensues………………
Review
Doug Liman is best known for the original The Bourne Identity and Mr and Mrs Smith (should we blame him for Brangelina? Yes, yes we should). As Director of the Canberra International Film Festival Mr Simon Weaving pointed out at the Australian premiere of the movie, the film is a real life retelling of Mr and Mrs Smith; spies and political intrigue under the same roof.
The movie does not start with a clear focus however. We are presented with the origins of the War in Iraq, and the question of whether or not a substance called yellow cake is being shipped from Niger, Africa, for the purposes of Saddam Hussein to build weapons of mass destruction, and the spinning from the Bush administration to demonstrate that even if there is a small risk of such weapons manufacture occurring, that it is still a significant one. We are shown the responsibilities that CIA covert agent Valerie has, and the real dangers her contacts in the field face working with her. This of course all becomes threatened once her cover is blown, and an ethical debate arises between her and her husband. The movie takes a long time getting to its purpose, and, once it gears up, it is suddenly over.
Political thrillers can be done in an entertaining way, and in a way that is understood by the audience. Brilliance is simplicity, and it seems that this story is presented too convoluted and takes too long to get to its purpose: a man and his wife at odds over very big themes with tremendous consequences. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan thrillers are well researched and intriguing, even the The Bourne Identity’s was a clearer, more accessible movie.
Even more distracting is the camerawork. Where Paul Greengrass made his Bourne sequels into shaky-cam territory, Doug Liman takes it here, into the world of conferences, phone calls and coffees. Shaky-cam is great to give a first person documentary feel inside a world of action, however, when it is used to artificially liven up a scene a la Michael Bay, it is distracting at best and nauseating and irritating at worst.
Rating
Like last year’s The Men Who Stare at Goats, this deserved a better telling. A fantastic story that could have been delivered clearer, both in plot and cinematography.
2 Out of 5 board-room meetings.
Check out what Margaret and David have to say, watch their interview with Director Doug Liman and the trailer!
Luke McWilliams, December 2010
