While spies always are exactly what the title of "Fair Game" implies, they are entitled to better treatment by their employers than Valerie Plame got from the George W. Bush White House, which leaked her name to a newspaper columnist after her husband, Joe Wilson, found no evidence to support the Bush Administration's rush to war in Iraq. The movie, with excellent performances from Sean Penn and Naomi Watts as the embattled, but innocent couple, opens today.
Based on memoirs from both parties, whose marriage was strained during their ordeal, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth wrote an interesting screenplay, and director Doug Liman got powerful performances from both stars, in their third film together.
Plame obviously loved life as a CIA agent. The travel, the at-a-moment's-notice adventure, the high-pressure dealing were thrilling to her, and Watts's posture, her purposeful walk, her entire attitude shows that the job had rich sexual overtones for her, not that she was unfaithful to her husband, but that the lifestyle tingled throughout her body.
Wilson a long-time diplomat in Iraq and Africa, was minding his own business when the yellow-cake episode took place. The White House, looking for something–anything–to help take the U.S. to war, followed a rumor that Iraq was buying fissionable material in Niger, and sought proof. Wilson had been stationed there, knew government officials there. The CIA asked Plame for an endorsement, followed her recommendation and sent him to investigate. He found nothing, no evidence of fissionable material, no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, came home and reported it.
The White House ignored him, Condoleezza Rice talked of mushroom clouds, Dick Cheney railed about righteousness, and we went to war, trailing lies about weapons of mass destruction.
None were found.
Wilson was so angry that he wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times, accusing the administration of telling lies and leading the nation to war under false pretenses. The administration retaliated by revealing that Plame was a covert CIA agent, which happens to be a federal crime. Columnist Robert Novak received the information from Cheney's right-hand man, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby. Libby eventually was tried and convicted, but his prison sentence was commuted by Bush, though Libby did not receive a pardon.
Once outed, which came as a great surprise to the Wilson's friends in Washington, she still refrained from commenting at the time. Wilson let his anger out, and Penn is multi-layered and exciting in the role. Their problems put great strain on the marriage, though her father (a small but effective role by playwright-actor Sam Shepard) stood up for Wilson.
It's a fascinating movie, and political thinking will be a factor in enjoyment, but this critic was filled with shock and awe in watching how the rewards for patriotism are handed out.
Fair Game opens today at Plaza Frontenac.
—Joe