CIA operative Valerie Plame discovers her identity is allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband wrote criticizing the Bush administration.
Plame's status as a CIA agent was revealed by White House officials allegedly out to discredit her husband after he wrote a 2003 New York Times op-ed piece saying that the Bush administration had manipulated intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq.Written by
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A scene showing the announcement that the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the leak of Valerie's name is dated September 26, 2003. A minute earlier two White House officials are shown looking at newspaper reports of the federal grand jury investigation which were written in 2005 and 2006, as seen in the byline. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Valerie Plame:
[arriving at Kuala Lumpur airport]
Jessica McDowell, Gnosos Chemicals.
Chanel Suit:
[on elevator]
When do you leave Kuala Lumpur, Miss McDowell?
Valerie Plame:
I fly to Taiwan Tuesday, then back to Düsseldorf.
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Crazy Credits
The film's closing credits declare: "Democracy only works if you do your part", and citing the website link - www.takepart.com/fairgame. See more »
Alternate Versions
According to Decider.com, the changes in the 2018 director's cut are:
-The new version runs 1 hour and 54 minutes to the original's 1 hour and 48 minutes
The Director's Cut shows Plame leading a quiet raid on a shipping facility in order to intercept a detonator
A scene where Wilson expresses his frustration and fear that he can't know where Plame is being sent or whether she's okay
A short scene airs after a clip of Bush giving his State of the Union speech where he alluded to Iraq's use of uranium, where we see Iraq at dusk, peaceful, before the U.S. shock-and-awe bombing began
An extended scene between Plame and her friend Diana (Brooke Smith) after Plame's cover has been blown
An extension of a scene where Plame and Wilson argue in their kitchen
A scene where Joe is harassed at a restaurant and he yells back at the woman is trimmed up a bit
A closing montage of Wilson speaking at various college lectures is re-edited
The final scene of Naomi Watts as Plame testifying before Congress has been swapped for different shots
The postscript: "In 2018 President Trump gave Libby a full pardon."
"When did the question move from 'Why are we going to war?' to 'Who is this man's wife?'"
Fair Game takes the huge media storm of a few years ago surrounding the leaked identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, and focuses on the strain placed on her and her family by the intentional exposure of her identity by government officials in retaliation for her husband's infamous New York Times op-ed piece.
Movies based on actual, heavily politically-charged events usually aren't my thing, but Naomi Watts as Valerie and Sean Penn as her husband really do an excellent job of conveying this serious, and at times troubling, story. Watts portrays Plame as an intelligent and capable woman who is easy to sympathize with. As she's effectively blocked out from her job at the CIA and her personal life begins to swiftly unravel, she keeps a steely resolve that's wholly believable. And while Sean Penn doesn't have to stretch far for his character, he also makes him feel like a genuine person. Great acting from them both to compliment the solid script.
Anyone even casually interested in the Valerie Plame scandal should check this out, as it's a pretty darn good (and thought-provoking) adaptation of a dark time in our country's recent history.
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"When did the question move from 'Why are we going to war?' to 'Who is this man's wife?'"
Fair Game takes the huge media storm of a few years ago surrounding the leaked identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, and focuses on the strain placed on her and her family by the intentional exposure of her identity by government officials in retaliation for her husband's infamous New York Times op-ed piece.
Movies based on actual, heavily politically-charged events usually aren't my thing, but Naomi Watts as Valerie and Sean Penn as her husband really do an excellent job of conveying this serious, and at times troubling, story. Watts portrays Plame as an intelligent and capable woman who is easy to sympathize with. As she's effectively blocked out from her job at the CIA and her personal life begins to swiftly unravel, she keeps a steely resolve that's wholly believable. And while Sean Penn doesn't have to stretch far for his character, he also makes him feel like a genuine person. Great acting from them both to compliment the solid script.
Anyone even casually interested in the Valerie Plame scandal should check this out, as it's a pretty darn good (and thought-provoking) adaptation of a dark time in our country's recent history.