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IMDbPro

Fair Game

  • 20102010
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
49K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
7,027
733
Sean Penn and Naomi Watts in Fair Game (2010)
CIA operative Valerie Plame (Watts), who is investigating the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, discovers her identity allegedly leaked by the government as payback for an op-ed article her husband (Penn) wrote criticizing the Bush administration.
Play trailer2:09
1 Video
29 Photos
BiographyDramaThriller
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.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.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.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
49K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
7,027
733
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Doug Liman
    • Writers
      • Jez Butterworth(screenplay)
      • John-Henry Butterworth(screenplay)
      • Joseph Wilson(book "The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir")
    • Stars
      • Naomi Watts
      • Sean Penn
      • Sonya Davison
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Doug Liman
    • Writers
      • Jez Butterworth(screenplay)
      • John-Henry Butterworth(screenplay)
      • Joseph Wilson(book "The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir")
    • Stars
      • Naomi Watts
      • Sean Penn
      • Sonya Davison
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 154User reviews
    • 206Critic reviews
    • 69Metascore
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 9 nominations

    Videos1

    Fair Game
    Trailer 2:09
    Fair Game

    Photos29

    Noah Emmerich, Michael Kelly, and Naomi Watts in Fair Game (2010)
    Brooke Smith in Fair Game (2010)
    Khaled Nabawy and Liraz Charhi in Fair Game (2010)
    Bruce McGill and Kristoffer Ryan Winters in Fair Game (2010)
    Doug Liman in Fair Game (2010)
    Naomi Watts in Fair Game (2010)
    Sam Shepard and Naomi Watts in Fair Game (2010)
    Sean Penn and Ty Burrell in Fair Game (2010)
    Sean Penn in Fair Game (2010)
    David Andrews and Adam LeFevre in Fair Game (2010)
    David Andrews and Adam LeFevre in Fair Game (2010)
    Doug Liman and Naomi Watts in Fair Game (2010)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Naomi Watts
    Naomi Watts
    • Valerie Plame
    Sean Penn
    Sean Penn
    • Joe Wilson
    Sonya Davison
    • Chanel Suit
    Vanessa Chong
    • Tabir Secretary #1
    Anand Tiwari
    Anand Tiwari
    • Hafiz
    Stephanie Chai
    • Tabir Secretary #2
    Ty Burrell
    Ty Burrell
    • Fred
    Jessica Hecht
    Jessica Hecht
    • Sue
    Norbert Leo Butz
    Norbert Leo Butz
    • Steve
    Rebecca Rigg
    Rebecca Rigg
    • Lisa
    Brooke Smith
    Brooke Smith
    • Diana
    Tom McCarthy
    Tom McCarthy
    • Jeff
    Ashley Gerasimovich
    Ashley Gerasimovich
    • Samantha Wilson
    Quinn Broggy
    • Trevor Wilson
    Nicholas Sadler
    Nicholas Sadler
    • CIA Tour Leader
    Michael Kelly
    Michael Kelly
    • Jack
    Noah Emmerich
    Noah Emmerich
    • Bill
    Iris Bahr
    Iris Bahr
    • CPD Agent
    • Director
      • Doug Liman
    • Writers
      • Jez Butterworth(screenplay)
      • John-Henry Butterworth(screenplay)
      • Joseph Wilson(book "The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity: A Diplomat's Memoir")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      There is a coded message hidden in the end credits that has not yet been decoded.
    • Goofs
      When Joe Wilson arrives at the Niger Republic, the registration plates are written in Arabic ( filmed in Egypt), where in Niger it would be written in French.
    • Quotes

      Joe Wilson: The responsibility of a country is not in the hands of a privileged few. We are strong, and we are free from tyranny as long as each one of us remembers his or her duty as a citizen. Whether it's to report a pothole at the top of your street or lies in a State of the Union address, speak out! Ask those questions. Demand that truth. Democracy is not a free ride, man. I'm here to tell you. But, this is where we live. And if we do our job, this is where our children will live. God bless America.

    • Crazy credits
      In the closing credits, the last names of some of the characters (Hafiz, Jack, Bill, Dr. Zahraa, Paul, Ali, Hammad, Beth and Pete) are redacted.
    • Alternate versions
      Doug Liman re-cut the film for a "2018 director's cut" that runs about six minutes longer.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Last Exorcism/Piranha 3D/Vampires Suck (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Awas!
      Written by Norman Abdul Halim (as Norman A. Halim) and Yusry Abd Halim (as Yusry A. Halim)

      Performed by Kru

      Courtesy of EMI Malaysia Sdn Bhd

      Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

    User reviews154

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Redressing a small but nasty piece of political bastardry
    In retrospect, the George "Dubyah" Bush administration seems to have been more incompetent than evil, but this movie holds the Bushies to account for what was a completely malicious and unjustified act, the outing of the covert CIA operative Valerie Plame, which put numerous undercover operations and informants at risk, solely because her husband former Ambassador Joe Wilson IV had the temerity to dissent publicly from the White House line that the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had tried to buy uranium from Niger for bomb-making purposes. It is also evident that the CIA's soundly based advice that Saddam's bomb-making activities had ceased after the first Gulf War in 1991 was studiously ignored by the White House in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

    The actual leaker, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage got away scot-free, a crucial matter not discussed in the film , but "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Chaney's chief of staff carried the can and nearly spent 30 months inside for lying to investigators before being pardoned by the President. The film focuses on Libby and implies he was the leaker, acting with the knowledge of Karl Rove, the man who described Valerie Plame as "fair game", and Vice President Cheney.

    Director Doug Liman is best known as a producer of thrillers ("Bourne Ultimation" etc) but here he and the Butterworths (Jez and John Henry) as scriptwriters have focused not only on the political intrigue but also the effect the Bushies' bastardry had on Joe and Valerie's personal lives. This gives some great acting possibilities to Sean Penn as Joe and our very own Naomi Watts as Valerie, and they both rise to the occasion, although Sean Penn might be a little self-righteous for some tastes. The personal impact aside, what the leakers did was a good deal worse than anything Julian Assange has done, and it is ironic that some of the conservative commentators who tried to discredit Joe and Valerie are now in the front line of those attacking the Wikileaks founder.

    Regardless of the politics, this movie is entertaining enough to pass the watch test despite some dodgy hand-held photography. Near the end Valerie has a meeting with a very senior CIA officer glimpsed earlier, on a park bench in front of the White House. This man, played by Bruce McGill, bears a remarkable physical resemblance to the then director of the CIA, George Tenet. He warns her that she and Joe are up against the most powerful men in the world and asks her to stay silent for the sake of the agency. Valerie points out the agency won't even give her family any protection against death threats, to which Tenet, if that's who it's meant to be, merely shrugs his shoulders. What are the film makers trying to say here - that the agency doesn't look after its own?

    Both Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame were patriots and, I believe, from Republican backgrounds. This did not bother the leakers who clearly couldn't care less who they hurt in the propaganda battle over the Iraqi invasion they were determined to launch. This film is based on two books by Joe and Valerie so I suppose it is a somewhat partisan account. Nevertheless it is hard to imagine a film treatment justifying what was done to them. George Bush in his memoirs mentions the Libby pardon issue but is otherwise silent on who did what. Never mind, his place in history as one of the lesser presidents is assured.
    helpful•77
    29
    • Philby-3
    • Jan 9, 2011

    FAQ5

    • What is 'Fair Game' about?
    • Is 'Fair Game' based on a book?
    • How accurate is this movie?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 3, 2010 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • United Arab Emirates
    • Official sites
      • Full Production Notes - MS Word [Australia]
      • Official site (Germany)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Untitled Plame and Wilson Biopic
    • Filming locations
      • Amman, Jordan
    • Production companies
      • River Road Entertainment
      • Participant
      • Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $22,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $9,540,691
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $651,082
      • Nov 7, 2010
    • Gross worldwide
      • $25,806,953
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • SDDS
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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