Fair Game: A meaningful wake-up call

Written by Mark Schumann, Father of Three
Thursday, 12 May 2011 11:18

Each week, the Reel Dad checks the nutritional value of a movie — new or classic — to help parents choose what to watch. This week’s pick is a recent film now on DVD, Fair Game.

The news events of the past week — and the historical milestones they represent — return us to a darker period, a decade ago, when our government seemed to chase easy answers to address the nation’s anger. While some efforts may have helped ease the pain for some, others created irreversible tragedy for those unlucky enough to do sensitive work or communicate unpopular facts. And, all these years later, we must ask ourselves, “what was accomplished and at what cost?”

Fair Game, an overlooked film from 2010 that is available on DVD, dares to challenge the Bush administration assumption that weapons of mass destruction justified declaring war on Iraq. But this is not a political film in the same way that The Social Network was not a business school study of Facebook. Fair Game tells a compelling story of what can happen when people trying to do their jobs get caught up in a government trying to justify its efforts. The film dares to ask questions about our national integrity without pretending to offer easy answers. And it remembers that we go to the movies to be entertained.

To her friends and neighbors, Valerie Plame leads a predictable life as an executive in finance, the mother to young twins, and the wife to U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson. But, unknown to everyone, she is a CIA operative working around the world in many dangerous situations. That her work in the CIA is treated in such a matter-of-fact way — unlike, by comparison, a television episode of 24 — makes it even more devastating when she is “outed” after her husband writes an op-ed piece criticizing the Bush administration for stretching the truth about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Rather than try to overdo any message of the film, director Doug Liman — working from books by Plame and Wilson — focuses on the personal devastation that can result when governmental secrecy is breeched. Plame and Wilson are carefully portrayed as people who work hard, believe in the integrity of their work, and strive to protect that integrity from any threats. And, when they are personally threatened and professionally destroyed by people with agendas they cannot understand, they react less as patriots than as people, scratching to fight back any way they can.

Naomi Watts paints Plame as a dedicated if, at times, scattered professional who willingly sacrifices any personal commitments for the sake of her work. She is not a typical movie heroine; she can be selfish, demanding and outspoken. But when her integrity is compromised, Watts perfectly conveys how it must feel when someone’s authenticity is questioned. Penn is, as always, believable as a man who trusts his wife, fears his country, and passionately fights to protect who and what he loves. Their chemistry is so authentic, and their portrayal of domestic stress so realistic, that they make what could have been a cold political drama into a human story of how two people join together when they are wronged.

Perhaps, when released last year, Fair Game was too reminiscent of a time many prefer to forget. But as we learned last week, it takes but a moment, a single news announcement, to return to earlier times. Fair Game reminds us how tragic the truth can be, for people and for a nation, when some try to spin their message.

Film Nutritional Value:

Fair Game

* Content: High. Telling a story of global intrigue through the eyes of two people simply trying to do their work gives the content a real-time urgency.

* Entertainment: High. Even as it offers important lessons, Fair Game never forgets that its primary task is to entertain. And it emerges as one of the most entertaining films of 2010.

* Message: Medium. The film’s strength is how it portrays real people caught in political situations that can be impossible to believe. That lasts longer than its warnings about specific political figures.

* Relevance: High. Any opportunity to inspire children to learn more about the world in which we liver is well worth a visit to the movies.

* Opportunity for Dialogue: High. After you share this film, talk about the impact of this chapter in history to our country, and their feelings about the invasion of personal lives it portrays.

Fair Game is rated PG-13 for strong language. It runs 106 minutes.

4-1/2 Popcorn Buckets

Free shipping, generic atarax, the best solution. You can order or, generic augmentin, Fast and easy. With us you can, generic avodart, or order online.