Watch it at Amazon
69 out of 90 people found the following review useful: The kind of intelligent movie Hollywood rarely makes anymore, 9 September 2008 Author: RolyRoly from Canada
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.
52 out of 79 people found the following review useful: A powerful film..., 13 September 2008 Author: BobStage from Ontario, Canada
I first heard about this film because of Matt Dillon, one of my favourite actors. He is the second billing in this film, right behind Kate Beckinsale, also starring Vera Farmiga, Alan Alda, Angela Bassett, and David Schwimmer.The film is about Rachel Armstrong, a reporter (Beckinsale) who has written the story of her life: a military coup by the United States on a South American country was a lie, a Watergate, an operation that could get a president impeached. One CIA agent (Farmiga) had been there before the attack and had reported that there was no need to attack. They attacked anyway, and through a number of sources, Armstrong succeeds in finding the story. When the paper hits, the government realizes that they must find out the original source of Armstrong. Hired to find out this story is Patton Dupois (Matt Dillon), who goes after Armstrong with a ruthless but aloof determination. She is held in contempt of court when she refuses to reveal her source, and she is put in jail. Armstrong's boss (Bassett) and her lawyer (Alda) urges her to keep up the stand she has taken, while her husband (Schwimmer) is angry that she has done this. She herself must cope with the consequences of taking on the government, and the pressure just lays on throughout the story.Beckinsale keeps the story going easily with her brilliant performance. The story is of course, focused on her, and the effect of imprisonment and interrogation can be seen on her face when she sees her son through the glass of visiting hours, or when Dupois questions her in court. Matt Dillon is also a brilliant actor, and I hope the two of them get nominated this year. However, while Dillon deserves it, I think Alda will end up with the nomination, who is both witty and cynical throughout the court battles.The film's true strength comes from the fact that it is not a true Hollywood film. There is a tone about it that is certainly not like a usual story like this. The characters are dark, but also with redeeming qualities. Schwimmer's character of the husband does hurtful things, but out of weakness rather than malice. Dillon's character is ruthless in his prosecution, but in truth, he is just doing his job well. Even Beckinsale's character is not the underdog hero that this film could have been about. Thankfully, this movie takes a different route.It was a real enjoyment seeing this film. Dillon shines as he usually has when I've seen him, and so do Beckinsale and Farmiga. The only over-the-top character is that of Avril Aaronson, played by Noah Wyle, and is thankfully overshadowed by the good performances of those who carry the film.
45 out of 67 people found the following review useful: Watch it!, 18 December 2008 Author: Scott Carr (scott@transcendingpictures.com) from Los Angeles
I saw this film at a press screening last weekend. Wow! What an achievement. This story is masterfully executed, creating a lyrical and deeply affecting empathy with the film's lead character, played with Oscar-worthy precision and nuance by Kate Beckinsale. This film is truly about something, which isn't as common as I think we'd hope with movies. It has truly meaningful themes that are dramatized in an entertaining, emotional and often eloquent way. The acting is top-notch. The direction is confident.I don't want to say much about the plot because it has some nice twists and touching moments that come from the organic development of the characters' relationships, their conflicts and their fight for what they believe in. This film is about principle. This film unapologetically stands for the power of our word and the example we set for our children. It's a must-see this Holiday season. It may only have a limited release due to complications experienced by its distributor, so get out now and see it! Don't just wait for DVD. This one is an outstanding experience in the presence of others because in many ways it's about what unites us when we believe in ourselves and the integrity of other.
43 out of 66 people found the following review useful: Intelligently written. Potent performances. Superlatively gripping story., 20 December 2008 Author: (deblore@aol.com) from Culver City, California
Anytime I see a project that has Rod Lurie attached, I can't get to a screening fast enough. His writing is always intelligent, decisive, thought provoking, timely and topical, with a story that embraces integrity, ethics, morals and social conscience. His direction is always with military crispness, sharp and clean. His casting choices are impeccable and his characters well crafted, multi-textural, fractured human beings that have a fire about them that draws one as a viewer ever deeper into the story and the film. Lurie now attains even greater heights with the riveting NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. Championing justice and the high price of integrity, conviction and principle, he takes a page from today's headlines and makes it his own with a story involving a top notch journalist and an exposed undercover CIA operative and the the fight to protect not only a source but the values of motherhood, family, privacy and the right to know.Kate Beckinsale is mesmerizing as Rachel Armstrong. A physically demanding role given the intense prison sequences, her physicality pales in comparison to the emotional intensity and strength she puts forth on screen. Like a caged animal, she calculates every move, every action, every reaction with an internal ferocity that ignites every scene. Equally amazing is Vera Farmiga as Erica Van Doren. Having just seen Farmiga as a devoted loving WWII mother in "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas", I was blown away by her tough as nails, hard core performance as Van Doren which she balanced with a carefully toned maternal edge; an act equaling that of Beckinsale's maternal double edged sword.As if the women aren't reason enough to be on the edge of your seat with Lurie's taut script, enter Noah Wylie, Matt Dillon and Alan Alda. Noah Wylie was a surprise casting choice as Avril Aaronson but he is a completely neurotic firey self-involved frenetic attorney - to a tee. But then toss in a little taste of a legal oil slick in the form of Matt Dillon as prosecutor Patton Dubois and the ante is upped exponentially. As Dubois, Dillon brings new levels of arrogance and self-importance to the perception of attorneys (and trust me, many are very arrogant) which sparks dynamic chemistry between he and Beckinsale. And then there's Alan Alda. Always a welcome addition to any film, and particularly a Rod Lurie film, Alda is the voice of reason, the conscience of the film. He gives reasoned voice to the character of Rachel and never moreso than in one of the most impassioned and empowered monologues addressing the Supreme Court. That exquisitely written argument and Alda's delivery is phenomenal. It is the social conscience and fundamental essence of the film. Powerful and priceless, it's eloquence defies description.Lurie himself even says, "I think Kate is just fantastic in the film, as is Vera and Alan. " A real coup was the casting of one of the seminal First Amendment attorneys in the United States, Floyd Abrams, who stepped in not only to play Judge Hall, but he also served as technical adviser on the film. Sometimes he would stop in the middle of the shoot and say 'this is wrong' to which Lurie would tell him, 'You're playing it, play it right." The meticulous detail of the written structure is equaled by Lurie's fine tuned direction. Metaphorically addressing the issues of the film through light and texture, the visual aspect of the film is as interesting as the dialogue. What strikes me most, however, is the intricately woven clues that lead up to the surprise climactic ending where we finally do learn the answers to Rachel's personal convictions. It will blow your mind.Intelligently written. Potent performances. Superlative gripping story. A principled film that speaks soberly and passionately about standing up for one principles; be it a soccer mom, CIA agent or reporter. When all is said and done there is NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.Written and directed by Rod Lurie.For my complete review of the film and interviews with Rod Lurie and Kate Beckinsale, go to www.moviesharkdeblore.com
40 out of 68 people found the following review useful: Nothing But The Truth, 17 November 2008 Author: shanebrode from United States
Commentary:Quietly, cautiously and self-consciously, Rod Lurie has for nearly a decade now worked at building a sterling reputation as the most significant writer-director of substantial films since Oliver Stone. In such movies as "The Contender" and Abc-TV's "Commander In Chief", Lurie has dealt with politics and journalism and, in his uniquely appealing way, the odd, complex, symbiotic relationship between them. That vision was extended to also comment on--criticizing more than celebrating--the mystery of macho values, be they in actual combat or the athletic sphere, in "Resurrecting The Champ", "The Last Castle", and TV's "Line Of Fire"; here's a theme Lurie is certain to explore to its fullest in his announced remake of the controversial Sam Peckinpah classic "Straw Dogs". Meanwhile, Lurie has returned to his original combination of preoccupations for "Nothing But The Truth", the film that will, if there is any justice in the world (and at the box-office), arc his reputation from cult indie filmmaker for the educated-elite into the most important mainstream movie maker in the business, able to entertain with edge of your seat suspense while quietly informing you about the most important elements in our society.Clearly, "Nothing But The Truth" was inspired by the Valerie Plame/Judy Miller incident: the film focuses on a curious relationship that develops between a reporter (Kate Beckinsale) and a spy (Vera Farmiga) when the former "outs" the latter in a newspaper story. Yet anyone expecting a combination of docudrama and roman-a-clef will be in for a surprise. Rather than remain slavishly true to the details, or even the essence, of the real-life situation, Lurie employs the premise but loosely, in order to explore those issues that most matter to him: the powers of the press and the politicos, as well as the impact of their natural conflict on the all-important First Amendment. But don't think for one moment that this turns out to be some dry 'message movie.' "Nothing But The Truth" plays as a Hitchcockian thriller, right down to the twist ending that makes a mainstream viewer want to go back and watch the movie over again, just to try and spot the hints of what is in store for us at the conclusion so as to try and grasp how we "never saw it coming" even though Lurie prepared us every inch of the way. There are great lines here that people will be quoting for years as phrases and statements enter into our idiomatic English. Lurie's direction proves as scintillating as his writing: subtle touches make clear that he knows how to tell a story visually as well as verbally. Likely, film critics of today and cinema historians of the future will debate his smart directorial decisions; yet they are so subtly done that the average viewer will remain entirely unaware of them (the way, of course, it should be), blithefully enjoying a terrific 'show' as all the artistry is understated. Best of all, Lurie--though clearly a liberal--never preaches to us in the manner we have come to expect (and, if the failure of W is any indication, finally reject) from Oliver Stone. Stone's movies are all centered around some idea which he hammers home. Lurie's films contain numerous ideas without ever becoming simplistically ideological. Though we clearly grasp what he thinks about important issues, Lurie leaves us free to make up our own minds. Stone tells us precisely what to think; Lurie explains what we ought to be thinking about. It's the difference between propaganda and education, the one narrowing our own intellectual abilities, the other expanding them. Expect this to be the breakthrough film for an expansive auteur who gets a little bit better with each picture, though it's hard to see how he'll top this one. Then again, those of us who discovered his work early on said that about "The Contender" and every film he has made since. --Douglas Brode Professor of Cinema/Television Studies The Newhouse School, Syracuse University
21 out of 31 people found the following review useful: Solid Movie That Could Have Been Very Good..., 26 January 2009 Author: jville2 from Canada
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
until the ending, which exposes this film as another piece of Hollywood propaganda. We have seen these types of films countless times, but this one is done extremely well. All of the actors deliver top-notch performances, and the script is good. The movie, while slowly paced, is still entertaining and works on many levels --as a mystery and as political commentary. So why am I giving this film only a 6/10? Well,--- SPOILER ----The ending completely ruins this film and makes Beckinsale's character a martyr. Why would a reporter so fiercely protect her "source" when the government would not be able (and would not want to) prosecute a child? It makes no sense for Beckinsale to go to the lengths that she does - ruining her family and Farmiga's - to shield a child who, when exposed, would never be made public or legally held liable anyway! --- END of SPOILER ---If not for the ridiculous reasoning behind Beckinsale's reluctance to divulge her "source," this could have been a very good, if not great, movie. However, because her character is an imbecile, I cannot deem this film as much more than political propaganda based on a horribly flawed (almost humorously bad) premise.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: No, Reveal The Source - It's the right thing to do...in this film, at least., 13 May 2009 Author: lucky_orphan
"Nothing But The Truth" should be studied by screenwriters and directors for years. It is a perfect illustration of a writer/director not thinking clearly about his topic, and choosing gimmickry and preaching over clarity and intelligence. When it was revealed (in a marvelous M. Night Shyamalan-style twist ending that turned the film from preachy to idiotic) that the source of the story was the daughter of the CIA agent, I threw my Netflix envelope across the room and yelled, "Thanks for wasting my time, Rod!" Let's pick it apart:– When a reporter chooses to not reveal a source, they do so for very good reasons – among which are usually fear for the source's safety, career, prosecution, harassment, reputation or otherwise.- Given that the reporter knew that the child could not be prosecuted, threatened or put in any negative situation other than a firm scolding from her mother, Beckinsale's character had no single reason to report the story, much less "protect her source," other than personal professional gain. Therefore, in the end, her character becomes a succubus, leeching off of the innocent mentionings of a child. Furthermore, revealing her source to the federal prosecutor would have led to nothing, and everyone could have gone on with their lives.- Of course, a rational, thoughtful (Vassar and Columbia-educated, allegedly), kind, empathetic person would have spoken to the CIA agent mother about her daughter's slip-up, suggested that she be more careful about what she tells her, and decided that there was nothing positive to be gained from this story being published.- Instead, we are asked to accept that Rachel Armstrong heroically stands by her principle of not revealing her source. In turn, she alienates and divorces her husband, loses custody of her son, gets the agent killed, and thus inflicts far more damage on the "source" (the daughter) than any revelation of her identity could have done.In the end, this is a tragic example of a writer/director believing too much in his politics and his prose, and not enough in the power of sound analysis. The fact that no one in the development process pointed this fatal error out and had it struck from the script is sad, but not surprising. Hollywood is good at overlooking incompetence.But to be fair, the reason I gave this movie 2 stars is that some credit should be given to Lurie's sense of technical direction, timing, cinematography, etc. Technically, the film was well executed. And the acting was very good. But for some reason, the term 'lipstick on a pig' comes to mind.It's going to take a while for this palm print on my forehead to wear off.
16 out of 26 people found the following review useful: great movie...completely destroyed in the last 2 min, 31 January 2009 Author: st bachev from Switzerland
i really really liked this movie.. the idea was great. the journalist who doesn't reveal the source .. the government and the way they work.. it really shows how thing are these last few years. great actors work.everyone really amazing and convenient.. all the characters even Ross did a good job.but still.. the ending.. absolute crap. if i knew who the source was.. i would have never done and gone through all the things like the lady (main character) did. it was BS. 1 year in jail and 2 in prison.. come on !! i would have talked to the mother and over.. what they gonna do ? kill the little girl.. BS. i don't know how to vote.. i really enjoyed the movie..but the last 2 min.. crapola all over it.I'm leaving this one without a vote...or i have to vote something like 4 .. because the ending just killed the story...
11 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Don't confuse Judith Miller with Kate Beckinsale, 25 April 2009 Author: socrates99 from Champaign, IL
This is a movie for those wishing a career in public relations, not journalism, as it claims. Ms Beckinsale plays a reporter willing to risk everything to do the right thing, namely, protect her source. And by my estimation she succeeds quite handily. I didn't really think she could act very well, though she'd never really been tested, but she clearly can and does here, and it's a pleasure to see because there are way too many actresses out there who are merely a pretty face and body.I had no problem thinking she could have been this determined reporter, but I should mention that my wife felt differently. Now my wife is not too kind to pretty women in general so I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but I enjoyed Kate's performance, with some minor reservations, and had no trouble being carried along by it, and it does the heavy lifting in the story, consuming the lion's share of the film. She's a beautiful lady, and perhaps I might question her having ever endured much pain and suffering in her personal life, but I don't doubt she understands what it means to have principles and can effectively imagine what it would be like to fight for them.Another surprise was Alan Alda who I generally dislike. Here he's quite good, I thought, as was Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga and David Schwimmer. Mr Dillon is actually quite memorable and you can't take your eyes off Vera whenever she's on screen and you kind of wish she were on more. But the biggest surprise of all was that they would try to confuse what Judith Miller did with what Kate Beckinsale's character does in this film. Ms Miller is hardly a hero. She gladly passed on information fed to her by a vindictive White House. And, why not? She'd long since done the same for the intelligence agencies before that, not particularly caring whether the information was merely manipulative or not. As I understand it, she was most interested in forwarding Israel's agenda in the New York Times whenever she could. And it was less a matter of finding the truth than it was playing gullible at the right moment. That they're clearly attempting to resurrect her career here is pretty contemptible though I can't really say that completely destroys the performances or the peculiar entertainment value of the movie.
16 out of 27 people found the following review useful: Don't Reveal the Source, 4 March 2009 Author: The_CareBearJew from every where
Wow. Just wow. I did not see that coming. As you might have already known, I'm not the usual kind of guy who enjoys politically charged movies, its just not my cup of tea. It either tends to be just pure propaganda BS or just plain preachy. There are some rare occasions however when handled by a man with a vision, all pretentiousness aside not taking sides whatsoever, the end result might turn out to be something great. Such rare occasion is this movie, I was just floored. Speechless. Its journalistic integrity vs national security, the government's ever growing control over the people vs freedom of speech, its all even handed arguments and this movie excellently fleshes it all out bit by bit until we reach the shocking conclusion. This is a movie that will captivate you, it goes past the glamour of its leading actors and all that hoopla and brings you right in the complexity of the story. It makes you think, it lubes up the rusty spots in your brain and gets you involved. After watching this movie, I just felt sad because this is the kind of movies Hollywood rarely makes anymore.Rod Lurie, on double duty here both as a director and a writer deserves all the kudos he can get. He shines in both departments, there was no right wing-left wing backstory here, it was an unflinching and inspired look at some of today's current issues and it was handled very greatly. It was intense, it was emotional, it was hard hitting and it is definitely one of 2008's most underrated films. The acting department all turned in some very fine performances. Matt Dillon who exudes a commanding presence playing a special prosecutor. His unnerved emotions served greatly in portraying the role and its one of the best I've seen of him so far. Alan Alda plays a high powered attorney with gusto, I've never really been a fan of his but after this one, I'm gonna check out some of his other works soon. Kate Beckinsale turns in an intense performance as the reporter and this is by far her greatest performance to date. And lastly, Vera Farmiga who has always been a top dog in the acting department turns in a mesmerising and captivating portrayal of a hard edged CIA agent and yet also a caring mom to her daughter. Her portrayal was never out of tune and the delivery was as natural as one actress can get. God only knows why she wasn't nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the recently concluded Oscars.The ending will just floor you and I promise you, you will not see it coming. Not by a long mile.
Add another review
