Fair Game

"Fair Game," based on the story of Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson, feels like a dubious proposition. We already know that the Bush Administration went to war with Iraq on trumped up intelligence. We also know that Wilson and Plame were unfairly targeted by the Administration. What could we learn from a movie on the subject?

More than you might expect--at least in the first half of the film. "Fair Game" shows us the lead up to war from the vantage point of the CIA. It shows us how data were collected and how the Administration interfered with the process. Even better, it shows how the Administration could possibly have convinced itself that Saddam Hussein might have a nuclear weapons program. All in all, it's a more realistic view of spying than you're likely to get from most Hollywood movies.

Unfortunately, the second half of "Fair Game" isn't so enlightening. Wilson attacks the President's claim that Hussein purchased yellowcake uranium from Niger. In retaliation, Administration officials leak the information that Wilson's wife, Plame, is a CIA officer. It's a fairly rote rehashing of the facts.

The movie turns into a marital drama, as Wilson fights back against his wife's wishes. Finally, the film ends on a pretty preachy note, using the kind of heavy-handed monologues it had wisely avoided until that point.

"Fair Game" ends up as a solid political thriller. A film that focused more on the CIA would have been much more valuable. Still, as anyone who has seen "W" can attest, this movie could have been a lot worse.