Directed by Doug Liman. Starring Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, David Denman, Bruce McGill, Brooke Smith. 136 min.
A few months back, in Green Zone, Paul Greengrass, director of the second and third Bourne films, used fiction to investigate the alleged conspiracy that propelled America into war with Iraq.
Yesterday, Doug Liman, who helmed the original Bourne, brought a different take on that fiasco to Cannes.
Playing (somewhat surprisingly) in competition, Fair Gametackles the fascinating story of Valerie Plame. The scandal focused on the decision, by some agency of government, to leak Plame's identity as a CIA operative when her husband, Joseph C Wilson, published a story in the New York Timesrubbishing the intelligence community's claims about Iraq's nuclear programme. While Wilson, a former ambassador, toured television studios, Plame became a hate figure for the American right.
Distinguished playwright Jez Butterworth has come together with his brother John to deliver a masterfully economical script. The film-makers have a great deal of complex information to get across in the opening hour, but the story comes through with impressive lucidity. Despite seeming a little fragile for a tough CIA operative, Naomi Watts does solid work as Plame, and Sean Penn, playing Wilson, is effective as an opinionated loudmouth who is rarely at home to tact.
To this point, in films such as Goand Jumper, Liman has sometimes proved an overly agitated director. For Fair Game, he strikes a decent balance between flash and restraint. At time the picture plays like a thriller. Elsewhere, it has the focus of a slice of political verité.
Unfortunately, the truth being what it is, the story fizzles out somewhat in the last reel. Still, we can hardly chastise the writers of a film about the WMD deceit for refusing to sex-up their own dossier.
