Fair Game

After fishing successfully with "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and fishing rather disappointingly in shallow waters with "Jumper", "Bourne Identity" director Doug Liman returns to more sophisticated thriller fare with "Fair Game". However, unlike Jason Bourne's first outing, the suspense here comes less from grand action sequences and more from a story so unbelievable it can only be true.

The film depicts the U.S. government's scandalous unmasking of former CIA agent Valerie Plames (Naomi Watts). Once one of the US intelligence community's top agents, Plames did outstanding work in troubled areas and was considered completely trustworthy, especially in the Arab world. When her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn), who still maintains important contacts in West Africa, works with his wife on an important undercover assignment to find out whether Iraq has actually bought 50 tons of uranium in Niger to produce nuclear weapons of mass destruction, they both uncover something unbelievable: the government's claims that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction have no basis and are simply false. But the government ignores the report and bombs Iraq. When Joe then publicizes his investigation and accuses the government of lying, the unbelievable happens: through clever tactics, Valerie is exposed, destroying her entire career. And in a country where any wartime criticism of the government is considered unpatriotic and treasonous, Valerie and Joe must now even fear for their lives...

Although Doug Liman takes some dramatic liberties, the story of "Fair Game" is true at its core. Based on the books by Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame, who was also helpful to the team as a consultant, Liman has succeeded in creating an extremely tense and intensely acted political thriller whose greatest strength is its rather sober, matter-of-fact staging. By doing without big polemics and not constantly pointing angry fingers at George W. Bush and his administration, but simply developing an intelligent and exciting screenplay from facts, "Fair Game" achieves extreme power and credibility.

Which is not to say, however, that the film is completely devoid of emotion. At the latest, when it becomes clear what consequences Valerie's unmasking will have for her marriage and her entire family, the viewer is thoroughly moved by the great performances of Naomi Watts and Sean Penn alone. But the staging just holds back a lot in this regard, so there is NEVER even the slightest danger of the film becoming too overrun with kitsch or pathos.

In addition to the good actors, the stirring story and the production that more than does it justice, the great camera work must also be praised, which captures the action on the many original locations and international filming sites in authentic images that, supported by the good editing, perfectly transport the mixture of drama and thriller on the screen.

"Fair Game" is an intelligent, suspenseful and top-notch piece of American cinema that proves once again that entertainment and ambition are not necessarily incompatible. In the end, the only question that really remains is why this incident didn't have more far-reaching consequences for the masterminds. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp