This film sets out to accomplish two things--it is an expose of the Iraq War with regard to the intelligence gathered to justify it and it is a look at a couple under pressure, Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson, who get swept up in Iraq controversy. The first half follows Valerie Plame as she goes about her work as a CIA covert operative. She's very much a woman in her job in that she cares about the promises she makes to "assets" and she is dedicated to her country. She soon finds out that her country doesn't give a darn about her and she is dumped, fast and hard, when her name is revealed in the media. Friends at work don't want anything else to do with her; the guys tell her, forget the promises you made to scientists who lives depended on trusting you, you are history.
Of course, blustery Joe Wilson is about fighting back. It's his country, not Cheney's or Bush's, and he's going to fight for the integrity of his name. Good luck, Joe. When the White House is out to get you, consider yourself gotten. They'll use all their power--media, officials, etc.--to destroy you and your wife and children for speaking truth. After all, this is America.
Overall, I didn't think the movie succeeded as a thriller (in fact, I fell asleep during part of it), but viewing it as an opponent of the Iraq War, it I did get all riled up again. Especially by that speech by Bush when he informs us of that secret transaction between Iraq and Niger with the aluminum tubes. They knew full well that the intelligence was false, but used it anyway to declare war. We were manipulated, tricked, deceived. If they had not used false intelligence, then Bush would not have gotten support for war. The consequences of that deception affect us to this very day. That they can play innocent shields them from treason and war crimes.
Scooter Libby is played for the smarmy con man he is. His hunt for false intelligence was much more successful than the hunt for WMDs. Of course, commuting his sentence deprived of us a trial that could have produced war crimes evidence against Bush, Cheney and others. Yes, I'm still upset...big time. And I will be until I draw my last dying breath.
An interesting part of this movie lets us see Iraq during the bombing and shows us how Baghdad fell apart during the early part of the war. Leaflets were dropped to provoke the Iraquis against Saddam; little did they know that life under Bremer and the U.S. would not be much better. Those who survived have yet to recover and enjoy a stable life.
Told from Plame's and Wilson's point of view, the movie lacks the broad scope this topic requires. It whets your appetite and doesn't really fulfill it. If you miss it at the theater, you'll certainly enjoy it as a DVD.
Of course, blustery Joe Wilson is about fighting back. It's his country, not Cheney's or Bush's, and he's going to fight for the integrity of his name. Good luck, Joe. When the White House is out to get you, consider yourself gotten. They'll use all their power--media, officials, etc.--to destroy you and your wife and children for speaking truth. After all, this is America.
Overall, I didn't think the movie succeeded as a thriller (in fact, I fell asleep during part of it), but viewing it as an opponent of the Iraq War, it I did get all riled up again. Especially by that speech by Bush when he informs us of that secret transaction between Iraq and Niger with the aluminum tubes. They knew full well that the intelligence was false, but used it anyway to declare war. We were manipulated, tricked, deceived. If they had not used false intelligence, then Bush would not have gotten support for war. The consequences of that deception affect us to this very day. That they can play innocent shields them from treason and war crimes.
Scooter Libby is played for the smarmy con man he is. His hunt for false intelligence was much more successful than the hunt for WMDs. Of course, commuting his sentence deprived of us a trial that could have produced war crimes evidence against Bush, Cheney and others. Yes, I'm still upset...big time. And I will be until I draw my last dying breath.
An interesting part of this movie lets us see Iraq during the bombing and shows us how Baghdad fell apart during the early part of the war. Leaflets were dropped to provoke the Iraquis against Saddam; little did they know that life under Bremer and the U.S. would not be much better. Those who survived have yet to recover and enjoy a stable life.
Told from Plame's and Wilson's point of view, the movie lacks the broad scope this topic requires. It whets your appetite and doesn't really fulfill it. If you miss it at the theater, you'll certainly enjoy it as a DVD.