Plot
In Washington, D.C., a female reporter faces a possible jail sentence for outing a CIA agent and refusing to reveal her source.
Release Year: 2008
Rating: 7.3/10 (15,360 voted)
Critic's Score: 64/100
Director:
Rod Lurie
Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga
Storyline Thinking Pulitzer Prize and hoping to bring down a President, D.C. political columnist Rachel Armstrong writes that the President ignored the findings of a covert CIA operative when ordering air strikes against Venezuela. Rachel names the agent, Erica Van Doren, a woman whose young daughter is in Rachel's son's class at school. The government moves quickly to force Rachel to name her source. She's jailed for contempt when she refuses. She won't change her mind, and the days add up. Chaos descends on Van Doren's life as well. First Amendment versus national security, marriage and motherhood versus separation. What's the value of a principle?
Cast: Kate Beckinsale
-
Rachel Armstrong
Matt Dillon
-
Patton Dubois
Angela Bassett
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Bonnie Benjamin
Alan Alda
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Alan Burnside
Vera Farmiga
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Erica Van Doren
David Schwimmer
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Ray Armstrong
Courtney B. Vance
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Agent O'Hara
Noah Wyle
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Avril Aaronson
Preston Bailey
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Timmy Armstrong
Floyd Abrams
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Judge Hall
Kristen Bough
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Allison Van Doren
Julie Ann Emery
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Agent Boyd
Robert Harvey
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Warden
Michael O'Neill
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CIA Director
Kristen Shaw
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Angel Rabinowitz
Opening Weekend: $3,045
(USA)
(21 December 2008)
(2 Screens)
Gross: $3,045
(USA)
(21 December 2008)
Technical Specs
Runtime:|
Canada:
(Toronto International Film Festival)
Did You Know?
Trivia: Kate Beckinsale and Vera Farmiga who worked together on this film have both played love interests opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. The films were
The Aviator and
The Departed, both directed by Martin Scorsese.
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers):
Numerous times, Rachael is referred to as "Miss Armstrong", but since she's married, the correct title is "Mrs."
Quotes: Dubois:
[Approaches Burnside after the court]
This is a real honour for me. I studied you growing up, my dad was also a lawyer.
User Review
The kind of intelligent movie Hollywood rarely makes anymore
Rating: 9/10
This was shown last night at the Toronto International Film Festival
and was very well received. It is a beautifully acted, deftly written
examination of the tension between freedom of the press and the power
of the state, based very loosely on the Valerie Plame case. The fact
that writer and director Rod Lurie spent 13 years in the newspaper
business is evident throughout, making for one of the most compelling
and believable portrayals of what it is like to be a political reporter
for a major newspaper since All the President's Men. Kate Beckinsale
(the reporter) and Vera Farmiga (as the CIA operative) are outstanding
and each delivers an Oscar-worthy performance. Matt Dillon gives one of
his best performances as the smarmy, ambitious and self-righteous
prosecuting attorney. David Schwimmer, an odd casting choice, does a
fine job within a fairly narrow range. Surprisingly, I even enjoyed
Alan Alda's performance as a high-powered, rather cynical and
self-obsessed Washington lawyer, hired to defend the beleaguered
reporter. But the two women really steal the show.
There was much discussion in our group about the ending and whether it
enhanced or undercut the basic message of the film. No point in
spoiling it here, but I can assure you it will provoke debate.
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