Doug Liman’s Fair Game will inevitably face comparisons to Alan J. Pakula’s All The President’s Men, as both address the danger of going up against the White House. But while Pakula addressed the world of political journalism, Liman approaches Fair Game like a political journalist himself, and his determination to accurately recount the experiences of Valerie Plame and the lead-up to the Iraq war is admirable. Admirable, but incredibly dull.
Valerie (Naomi Watts) is an undercover CIA operative married to Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), a former ambassador to Niger. Through separate investigations, the couple uncover huge holes in the Bush administration’s claims that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. When Joe’s report is ignored and the U.S. declares war, he writes a scathing op-ed column condemning the administration, who retaliate by leaking Valerie’s true identity, effectively ending her career and putting all of her overseas contacts at risk.
It should be gripping stuff, but Liman combines too much information with too much pontificating to create an uneasy blend of slow-paced political thriller and family drama. As Valerie remains stoic and Joe makes repetitive impassioned speeches about how “only democracy can save the children, man”, the couple’s relationship falters. But it’s difficult to care. The preachy, moralising script renders the two characters completely one-dimensional, and while Penn yells and Watts wells up, the actors appear to be on autopilot.
Liman also throws in an oppressive amount of political details, but no narrative arc to develop them, hoping that, seven years on, the basic facts will still shock us into outraged excitement. But shaky camera work doesn’t automatically create urgency, and the story feels flat. Not to mention belated – as the characters constantly shout about the corrupt government, they don’t inspire righteous anger, merely a sense of “Yeah, what else is new?”
Despite an intriguing story at its core, Fair Game fails to engage, and instead gives us Oscar-winning anchormen getting angry over yesterday’s news.