Liman's Return to Form?

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A longtime friend of Coming Attractions' Patrick Sauriol caught Doug Liman's Fair Game and is calling it "a really a tremendous, thought-provoking film. It's based on the same titled memoir by former CIA Agent Valerie Plame, who of course worked for the agency as an undercover spy until her husband wrote an op-ed piece declaring that the Bush White House lied about Sadaam Hussein's efforts to buy yellow-cake uranium from Niger.

Naomi Watts, Sean Penn in Doug Liman's Fair Game.

"Naomi Watts plays Plame (and as shown at the ending, really looks a lot like her), and plays her wonderfully. The story is set up through a sequence at the beginning showing her in action in the field, and in the CIA headquarters being completely dedicated to her job. She loves what she does for her country even at the price the travel and the secrecy puts on her family life.

"She's married to former Ambassador Joe Wilson, played by Sean Penn in what very easily could (and should) be his next Oscar nomination. Wilson is a man in turmoil almost from his opening scene, dining with friends who think they know everything about the world. They don't, Wilson doesn't, but he certainly knows more about the Iraq situation than they do and is glad to tell anybody about it who will listen.

"His expertise gets him looked at (through no suggestion of his wife) and requested of by the CIA to take a trip to Niger to investigate reports that Hussein was looking to buy uranium from that country, which Wilson was a leading expert on. He agreed, made the trip, found that there was no possible way that a purchase of yellowcake was made, and reported that back to the government. The administration, as we now know, chose to ignore this report, and used the incorrect intelligence as a key basis in its case for war.

"This destroys Wilson, who starts to speak up in the press, and the leak of his wife's identity was made. We're led to believe that the order of the leak was made by Karl Rove to Scooter Libby (played by a hilariously serious David Andrews), and the rest is history. Plame's career is destroyed, her marriage (and life) nearly go along with it, and a major investigation into corruption in the Bush White House is launched, ultimately leading to the fall of Libby.

"The film clocked in at roughly 1:50, and paced tremendously well. There was a side-plot they spent a bit too much time on involving an Iraqi family and Plame's valiant efforts to save them from the invasion, but that was really the only [problem with] the film. Watts is excellent, at least as good as she was in Eastern Promises, and Penn is as good here as I've seen him.

"It's directed by Doug Liman, who did an excellent job of it, and I believe he also served as DP, so kudos to him as I often forgot the camera was even rolling. Truly a wonderful human drama with political suspense that should interest anybody no matter how they vote. 9/10."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 28, 2009 at 10:43 AM

comment #1

Eloi Manning says ...

Could there be an on-screen couple more dour than Naomi Watts and Sean Penn?

28 Grams made me want to die.

Posted by Eloi Manning at October 28, 2009 11:53 AM

comment #2

115thDreamer says ...

Right, Eloi, and on top of that, I can't imagine we're going to see Naomi's tits in this one. At Least "Grams" gave us that....man, does she have nice gazongas.... I'd like to ride my toboggan through the valley of her "twin peaks." but anyway, I'm still intrigued by her rack, so I'll give it a look. I'm just surprised this is the first I"m hearing about this flick.

Posted by 115thDreamer at October 28, 2009 11:58 AM

comment #3

arturobandini2 says ...

It will be hysterical if there are long, blacked-out sequences in the movie that echo the many redacted sections of Plame's book.

Posted by arturobandini2 at October 28, 2009 12:22 PM

comment #4

actionman says ...

sounds great. sounds like my kind of movie.

Posted by actionman at October 28, 2009 12:25 PM

comment #5

M. Hulot says ...

Dreamer,

I love how the reviewer talked about her talent then you go an denigrate it by talking about her breasts. Are you 15 years old, or just a sexist pig?

They're called breasts, little boy. Every woman has them. Asdies Ms. Watts. And women just love when you're talking about the quality of their work in relationship to how much you might drool over and objectify them.

Loser.

Posted by M. Hulot at October 28, 2009 12:31 PM

comment #6

drbob says ...

For my money, I've always liked Liman's Bourne best.

Posted by drbob at October 28, 2009 12:33 PM

comment #7

Jack South P.I. says ...

I agree with bob. The first Bourne was the best though all were great. Identity was the best thinking-person's action movie ever.

Posted by Jack South P.I. at October 28, 2009 12:43 PM

comment #8

Markj74 says ...

Supremacy was the best in my book, I liked the plotline of Bourne apologising for his past deeds to the daughter of the man he murdered. Identity loses its way towards the end, the result of script and production nightmares.

Posted by Markj74 at October 28, 2009 1:21 PM

comment #9

anonymous2 says ...

I love that picture of Penn. He looks hilarious you can just see him doing his stuffy bureaucrat. "This isn't good. They're going to sell you out."

Posted by anonymous2 at October 28, 2009 1:37 PM

comment #10

Eloi Manning says ...

Supremacy was the best. He has both the mystery of his identity and past life mixed with a personal revenge plot after his bird gets offed. Plus Brian Cox. And that ace sequence when he disinfects his wound with vodka and then smashes into Karl Urban in a tunnel.

Ultimatum was a let down for me. Seemed a bit of a rehash of the other two.

Posted by Eloi Manning at October 28, 2009 1:40 PM

comment #11

Josh Massey says ...

Wait, somebody can tell the difference between the Bourne movies?

Posted by Josh Massey at October 28, 2009 3:06 PM

comment #12

BurmaShave says ...

Any reason this won't be locked by the end of the year? I see no reason not to make the Oscar run now if they can other than just not having space for it.

Posted by BurmaShave at October 28, 2009 3:09 PM

comment #13

dinovelvet says ...

Which was that Bourne movie where he like ran really fast, fought that super assassin in a cramped room, and then smashed up a lot of cars while a bunch of serious CIA people looked at stuff with satellites?

Posted by dinovelvet at October 28, 2009 4:47 PM

comment #14

thevisceral says ...

Watts passed her expiration date somewhere in there. Give her parts to Evan Rachel Wood.

Posted by thevisceral at October 28, 2009 6:56 PM

comment #15

YRG says ...

markj-- that scene stuck with me as well. The girl who plays the daughter is Oksana Akinshina, who was the principle in Lilya-4-Ever, one of the saddest films I've seen.

Posted by YRG at October 28, 2009 7:34 PM

comment #16

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

"We're led to believe that the order of the leak was made by Karl Rove to Scooter Libby"

Except that we know that Libby didn't leak it, Richard Armitage did. But any stick to beat the Bush administration, I guess.

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at October 28, 2009 8:04 PM

comment #17

lipranzer says ...

Eloi, if you're going to slam a movie, at least get the title right. It's 21 GRAMS.

"It will be hysterical if there are long, blacked-out sequences in the movie that echo the many redacted sections of Plame's book."

That would be funny, though most of those redacted sections most likely dealt with her work as an agent, and I'm guessing they won't have a lot of time for that anyway, to get to the story of her being outed.

Posted by lipranzer at October 28, 2009 8:32 PM

comment #18

reverent and free says ...

Does anyone else think Virginia Madsen would've been better cast as Plame?

Posted by reverent and free at October 28, 2009 11:02 PM

comment #19

qwiggles says ...

Gonna go ahead and call this the worst promotional still since Mr. Magorium's etc etc: http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2007/11/15/1195180157_9033/539w.jpg

Posted by qwiggles at October 28, 2009 11:04 PM

comment #20

Josh Massey says ...

"That would be funny, though most of those redacted sections most likely dealt with her work as an agent..."

And so we'll be denied those exciting scenes of her sitting at a desk in Washington.

Posted by Josh Massey at October 29, 2009 4:36 AM

comment #21

COCO says ...

Good point about V. Madsen coulda shoulda......
she is very good and misses out on important roles.....never called back? Who knows and now
at the age of no return.....meh.

Posted by COCO at October 29, 2009 4:36 AM

comment #22

Masheen says ...

How can anyone trust Liman after Jumper?

Posted by Masheen at October 29, 2009 4:49 AM

comment #23

crazynine says ...

This sure sounds like it will be Dick Armitage's favorite movie.

As for Penn = Wilson, I've been close to Wilson before (met him at an Indian restaurant in G-town a few years ago). Penn needs about ten more pounds and *even less* conditioner.

Posted by crazynine at October 29, 2009 6:15 AM

comment #24

SpinDozer says ...

'Except that we know that Libby didn't leak it, Richard Armitage did. But any stick to beat the Bush administration, I guess.'

Still up to your old tricks, MGMAX. Po little Bush administration, always getting beat up. Libby did leak, so did Rove, so did Ari Fleischer. Armitage was Novak's source, of course, but he was only one channel of distribution.

Posted by SpinDozer at October 29, 2009 3:57 PM

comment #25