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Parents' Guide to

Fair Game

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Tense Valerie Plame story mixes drama, politics.

Movie PG-13 2010 104 minutes
Fair Game Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

khan2705
khan2705 Adult
February 14, 2011
age 13+

a compelling and engaging political thriller/human drama.

3.5/5 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 this political thriller is the second political thriller after The Ghost Writer from last year, and the second best too. that one was very thrilling in a stylish and off beat way. this is a solid documentary like plainly moving movie. this movie is based on real accounts so its a true story which always entertain you. direction of this movie is good but i expected slightly more. screenplay is engaging and very much engaging. there are slight problems in writing that effects the second half of the movie. art and other technical direction is fine. editing was ok. story is good. movie is overall good to watch. Naomi Watts is such a talented actress, she is very good in this movie, good and natural performance, same for Sean Penn, he was good too. acting wise good. Importand and unsettling subject matter handled in a mature, sophisticated way. Captivating drama, skillfully scripted, a compelling human drama and a engaging political thriller. see it.

This title has:

Too much swearing
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In 2001, Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) is working as a covert CIA operative. Her husband, Joseph Wilson (Sean Penn), is a former ambassador. After reports of a huge sale of yellow cake uranium, the CIA agrees to send Wilson to Niger to investigate. He determines that no such sale took place, but months later, the White House reports the opposite and uses this information to justify going to war in Iraq. Wilson responds by writing an op-ed piece in the New York Times. Unfortunately, Plame's identity comes out in a subsequent news story, thereby destroying her career. The timing couldn't be worse: She was in the middle of trying to rescue a family from Iraq. And now she and her family are receiving death threats ...

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

Director Doug Liman takes a story about secret meetings, phone calls, and article-writing and makes it dynamic and suspenseful.This kind of political thriller can be tricky to make; the tendency is either to throw in too much politics or too many thrills (see Green Zone for an example). But Liman finds a nice balance with FAIR GAME, sticking fairly close to the real-life facts, even if he does employ a few tried-and-true Hollywood tricks for easy shortcuts.

Best of all, Liman adds a welcome, moving human level to recent history. It's heartbreaking to see Watts, as Plame, helplessly watching TV pundits casting judgment on her, and the strain on Plame and Wilson's marriage is palpable. The pair were more or less branded as traitors for a time, but here we see them as two good people who tried to do their best in the wrong place at the wrong time. The characters are angry, yes, but the movie itself keeps a cool head.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's tension and moments of violence. How did it affect you? How did the movie accomplish this?

  • How does this real-life story work as a movie? Do you think filmmakers changed any facts to make the movie? Why might they choose to do that?

  • Did Wilson do the right thing by writing the article and attempting to tell the truth? What would have happened if he had done nothing?

  • Would you say that Wilson and Plame are heroes or traitors? Or something in-between? Why?

Movie Details

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