Fair Game (2010)

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.

Director:

Doug Liman

Writers:

Jez Butterworth (screenplay), John-Henry Butterworth (screenplay)

Stars:

Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Sonya Davison

4 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Naomi Watts	...	Valerie Plame
Sonya Davison	...	Chanel Suit
Vanessa Chong	...	Tabir Secretary #1
Anand Tiwari	...	Hafiz
Stephanie Chai	...	Tabir Secretary #2
Sean Penn	...	Joe Wilson
Ty Burrell	...	Fred
Jessica Hecht	...	Sue
Norbert Leo Butz	...	Steve
Rebecca Rigg	...	Lisa
Brooke Smith	...	Diana
Tom McCarthy	...	Jeff
Ashley Gerasimovich	...	Samantha Wilson
Quinn Broggy	...	Trevor Wilson
Nicholas Sadler	...	CIA Tour Leader

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to massachusetts institute of technology | iraq | cia | new york times | interview | 

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Taglines:

Wife. Mother. Spy.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Full Production Notes - MS Word [Australia] Official site [Germany]

Country:

USA United Arab Emirates

Language:

English Arabic French

Release Date:

3 December 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Plame and Wilson Biopic

Filming Locations:

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$651,802, 7 November 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$9,528,092, 13 February 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

River Road Entertainment, Participant Media, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This political-espionage drama was directed by director Doug Liman who had previously directed such action-espionage movies as Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) and The Bourne Identity (2002).

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Goofs

Before the dinner party, a shot of the Wilson/Plame house is shown with a Honda Accord parked in the driveway. The Accord model seen wasn't introduced until 2007, despite the scene taking place in 2003.

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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

Also in the closing credits, various letters are shown yellow, among the primarily white letters of the credits -- these letters seem to form a cipher code:

CES?OAPCHFHTEOPISFMNADAMECAOREDATNRAYUURNQWKNUFRCOJRWRMDGSEHUWTOAKRA

(the question mark at the fourth letter in the code is used instead of a letter, as one of the redacted surnames, as mentioned in another trivia item, is colored yellow)

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Alternate Versions

Doug Liman re-cut the film for a "2018 director's cut" that runs about six minutes longer.

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.11 (2011)

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Soundtracks

My Block
Written by Ali Dee (as Ali Theodore), Zach Danziger and Julian Davis (as Julian Michael Davis)
Performed by Cham Pain
Courtesy of DeeTown Entertainment

User Reviews

Great Game

Fair Game follows in the tradition of All The President's Men as presenting a probing look into an important political issue in the form of a crackling thriller. Director Doug Liman uses his Bourne Identity/Mr & Mrs Smith skills to move the true story of exposure of Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts), the wife of US senator Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), as a CIA undercover agent by the Bush Administration at breakneck speed. Plame's research based on her contacts in Iraq had put serious doubts on the existence of WMD in Iraq, which was not in line with White House's view point. They thus considered her "fair game" for discrediting and public exposure. Fair Game is fascinating for all those interested in the mechanism of power and use/abuse of it; and is also a riveting piece of film making. In my view it's Liman's best film to date.