Blurring the lines
One more round of script revision keeps ‘Noting But the Truth’ from Oscar gold.
As it stands, the film delivers a solid, dramatic punch. But the knockout blow proves to be hard to find.
‘Nothing But the Truth’ grapples with how far law should extend into journalism and also examines the changing face of journalism.
Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale) outs a CIA agent (Vera Farmiga) and goes to jail instead of giving up her sources. Even First Amendment attorney Alan Burnside (Alan Alda) can’t get Armstrong out of jail.
The plot runs smoothly for the most part, but halfway through, director Rod Lurie seems to forget a major element of his movie – the true story.
Lurie said the movie was not based on the true case of CIA agent Valerie Plame, only inspired by it. But pulling more from the true story could have catapulted the movie into Oscar contention.
Lurie said he wanted to tell the story from a ‘what if’ perspective – mainly, ‘what if’ Plame’s child and the children of the reporter who outed her went to school together.
For the first quarter of the movie, it looks like Lurie’s ‘what if’ twist will work and the movie will take just enough from the true story. But we stop seeing the two children, Timothy (Preston Bailey) and Allison (Kristen Bough) midway through the movie.
Lurie’s scenario would have played out much more effectively if he had at least checked in with the children more frequently. But in the end, the film is about the characters and how they come to terms with the world around them.
The two mothers are well portrayed.
Beckinsale is dead-on in her role. Her transformation, both physical and emotional, from the eager journalist to the hardened prisoner was heart wrenching. Her flaws make the character believable. Without them we wouldn’t be able to take her seriously.
Farmiga’s performance nearly overshadows everyone else. She balances determined CIA agent and caring mother well, looking matronly in the scenes with her daughter while proving capable of swearing like a sailor when under pressure.
Lurie continues to craft incredible female characters. But the performances from the males in the movie don’t live up to their female counterparts.
The best part about Alan Alda’s character is his strong dash of witty, dry humor, which keeps the audience from being weighted down.
Aside from the occasional one-liners, Alda never seems to get a complete grip on his character. Sometimes Burnside comes across as a fashion-obsessed senior citizen and other times something like Martin Landau’s Bob Ryan on ‘Entourage.’ Alda never seems particularly zealous in his representation, especially in the climactic Supreme Court scene.
Another misplay comes from former ‘Friends’ star David Schwimmer, who plays Armstrong’s husband.
Ray Armstrong comes across as a feeble man who can’t handle his wife’s commitment to protecting her sources (he gets caught cheating on Armstrong by Alda). Just as Ray can’t match his wife’s passion, Schwimmer fails to live up to Beckinsale’s performance.
Rounding out the male characters is Matt Dillon’s role as empowered federal prosecutor Patton DuBois. Dillon manages to give a mediocre impression of Tom Cruise in ‘A Few Good Men’ but little more than that.
All in all, ‘Nothing But the Truth’ is worth the $10 movie ticket and 108 minutes invested in the movie.
Since there’s no real conclusion to the film, you get an extra bonus: Lurie leaves you to ponder about how far a journalist can or should go.
Published on November 2, 2008 at 12:00 pm
