Fair Game (2010)

Fair Game is an intriguing spy thriller inspired by the experiences of real-life undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame, whose career was destroyed and her marriage strained to its limits when her covert status was exposed by a White House press leak.

Starring Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts (Eastern Promises, King Kong, 21 Grams) and two-time Academy Award® winner Sean Penn (Mystic River, Milk), Fair Game is directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and written by Jez Butterworth (The Birthday Girl) & John-Henry Butterworth.

Valerie Plame (Watts), a covert officer in the CIA’s counter-proliferation department, discovers that Iraq has no active nuclear weapons programme, contrary to the belief of many in the U.S. government. Meanwhile, Valerie’s husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), a former ambassador to Niger, is sent by the State Department to Africa to investigate rumours of the possible sale of enriched uranium to Iraq. After the White House ignores Joe’s findings that no such deal took place, (along with at least two other reports that also confirmed the absence of any evidence of a uranium purchase) and declares war on Iraq, Joe writes a piece in The New York Times outlining his conclusions and  ignites a firestorm of controversy. Soon after, Valerie’s covert status is leaked to high-profile Washington journalists.

Is it an unfortunate coincidence or a coordinated campaign to retaliate against her husband for his very public disagreement with the government?

With her cover blown and her overseas contacts now left exposed and vulnerable, Valerie is pushed to the breaking point as her career and private life begin to implode. Friends become indignant, then distant. Valerie receives anonymous death threats and Joe’s consulting business dries up as a result of the concerted smear campaign against them. After 18 years serving the government, Valerie—a mother, a wife and a field officer with an impeccable record—now struggles to save her reputation, her career and her marriage.