FAIR GAME * * * *
Cert 12A, 107 mins
In Britain we are more familiar with the case of weapons inspector Dr David Kelly, but the US also had experts speaking out against the decision to go to war with Iraq.
One of those was former diplomat Joseph Wilson, played here by Sean Penn.
His wife, Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts), is a CIA agent fighting terrorism after 9/11 and trying to establish whether Saddam Hussein really does have a nuclear weapons programme.
Her colleagues ask Joe to visit Niger, a country he knows well, to investigate reports that Iraq is buying uranium from the African state.
He reports back that they’re not, but becomes increasingly frustrated by President George Bush’s claims about Saddam’s WMD.
He writes a newspaper article titled What I Didn’t Find In Africa, which angers the White House and provokes them to hit back and discredit him.
They do this by leaking Valerie’s identity as a spy, with tragic repercussions for the people she’s working with in the field. The personal attacks on the couple which follow put a huge strain on their lives and marriage.
This is a film of words rather than action, surprisingly from Doug Liman, who directed The Bourne Identity and Mr & Mrs Smith. Fortunately the superior dialogue, penned by British writer Jez Butterworth, is easy to listen to.
“You seriously think you can pick a fight with the White House and win?” Val asks her husband.
“They lied. That’s the truth,” replies the stubborn idealist. “By the time they’ve finished with us, we won’t know what that is,” is her downbeat response.
Watts is subtly strong, while Penn is rather more over the top as a man who seems to live on his convictions and strong black coffee.
We can guess that, unlike Dr Kelly, the protagonists in this movie will survive. In fact, the ending, cheering on truth, justice and the American way, is rather schmaltzy.
It also suffers a little from the fact these events happened eight years ago, and it’s devoid of thrills or tension. But it’s still an engrossing, well-written and acted movie.
RL
THE COMPANY MEN * * *
Cert 15, 103 mins
There have been plenty of good films about the downside of capitalism, ranging from Charlie Chaplin’s still relevant classic comedy Modern Times (1936) through to a more recent Dennis Quaid feature which got away, In Good Company (2004).
Some have even struck a chord with the Academy Awards’ voters – George Clooney was Oscar nominated for firing people while he was Up In The Air and this year’s best documentary, Inside Job, is currently showing at The Electric Cinema.
Cinema goers can also now lose themselves with The Company Men, which is well acted by a strong cast including Ben Affleck,
Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Costner and Chris Cooper and beautifully shot by Roger Deakins (True Grit).
A contemporary drama about the enduring financial implications of 2008, the story plays out like a downbeat, old school version of The Social Network.
Already searching for an ending by the halfway point, it seems as if a bit of ‘happy-clappy-Disney-dancing’ on top of some scaffolding will have to suffice.
Thankfully, there is a better conclusion of sorts to a serious chain of events which begin with the bad economic news of Monday, September 15, 2008.
Once known as Global Transportation Systems, former major shipbuilder GTX has to shed jobs galore, leaving its previously ultra-comfortable sales people like Bobby Walker (Affleck) trying to find new work while keeping his Porsche running and an expensive roof over his family’s head.
Unable to progress beyond a feelgood CV booster class, he even does some building work for his brother-in-law Jack (Kevin Costner, plastering walls in his own search for work!).
When the call for lunch goes up, Bobby optimistically asks: ‘Where are we going?’ only for reality to bite on a sandwich in the corner of the site.
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