Rod Lurie's work is steeped in the political culture of Washington and, from The Contender to tv's Commander in Chief, interested in the decision making ethics of women in power. Earnest, gently liberal and all too happy to sacrifice versimilitude to the demands of Hollywood-style storytelling, Lurie's films are well-intentioned but lacking the sharp edge of the best political thrillers.
Nothing But The Truth takes a true political scandal, the outing former covert operative Valerie Palme by journalist Judith Miller, and repacks it as a femme-driven prison drama cum legal thriller.
Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale), a young reporter on the national desk of a major Washington, D.C. daily, writes an explosive story that reveals the identity of covert CIA agent Erica Van Doren (Vera Farmiga). With the support of her editor (Angela Bassett) and her attorney (Alan Alda) she decides to keep mum and stand up to the bullying tactics of smarmy prosecutor Patton Dubois (Matt Dillon).
This act of first amendment bravery lands her in a detention centre for months, which is where the story stalls somewhat. It takes the pulling of invisible narrative strings to move the story to a satisfying conclusion, neatly tying up Armstrong's integrity with her maternal instincts.
Unfortunately the mechanisms of Hollywood storytelling become so blatantly apparent by then that our empathy, already seriously tested by bad casting and some terrible dialogue, takes a fatal hit. Once the film's only interesting character dies so too has our interest in this otherwise fascinating story. It's a shame because this female-driven tale of power, integrity and free speech in an era of male-initiated warmongering has all the right ingredients for an explosive thriller.
Existing at the confluence of the personal and the political, the narrative does a good job of putting the viewer at the heart of the ethical dilemma. Its need to justify every morally ambiguous decision of its saint-like main character, however, sends a clear message to the viewer: don't work too hard at unravelling the implications of Armstrong's choices, we'll do it for you. And don't worry, Rod Lurie seems to say, I wouldn't burden you with the responsibility of having to think for yourself.
The story's lack of emphasis on the wider canvas - partly attributable to budgetary restrictions, Nothing But The Truth being an indie masquerading as a studio picture - is its undoing. Despite the story involving an unwarranted military operation on foreign soil, a plot to assassinate an American president and a class-A political scandal, there is no sense (let alone images) of national turmoil. Shot in studio locations in maddening close-ups, Nothing But The Truth shoots for widescreen realism with results somewhere between Law and Order and Judge Judy.
Kate Beckinsale is not entirely convincing as a hotshot journalist working on The Story Of The Year. Matt Dillon is grating as the prosecutor while Angela Bassett is given very little to do as the head of the country's most respected newspaper. But even worse is Alan Alda. Usually so charismatic and effortlessly intelligent, his performance here is hindered by the incredible banality of his role as the fashion-obsessed attorney.
One actor does manage to extricate herself from this mess with her dignity intact. Vera Farmiga is sensational as the outed secret agent posing as a soccer mom. She doesn't have many scenes but it's impossible to look away when she's on screen, and not just because she's given the best lines ("You are an unpatriotic little c*nt who's gonna walk right off the plank in the bowels of hell!" - for example). One can only imagine what she might've done with Kate Beckingsale's role...
Nothing But The Truth is something best stumbled upon by accident on late night television, ideally caught 20 minutes in, ensuring at least some assembly work on the part of the viewer. Some of its more hysterical moments are entertaining enough (particularly an over-the-top prison catfight scene straight out of a 70's exploitation flick), but probably not in the way the filmmakers originally intended.
Nothing But The Truth opens stateside December 19th for an Oscar qualifying run, returning for a wider release in January.
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2 comments:
Boy, you certainly have some spoilers - which is not very cool, Matt. You talk about the most interesting character dying and then say who that most interesting character is.
It also seems odd to call this a liberal film when the call for a federal shield law is mostly a Republican issue.
I'm seeing it.
You're right. I have to be more careful about spoilers. It's not something I think about. I guess I don't mind them myself - what happens is not what drives me to see / like a movie. (Plus in this case I think you read between the lines).
As for the federal shield law I don't think that's what Lurie is pushing for. The film seems to indicate that the identity of the source is what drives Rachel to remain quiet as long as she does, not the actual principle.
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