The mix of a real-life espionage story gone awry plus two of Hollywood’s most potent actors creates a win-win for the film Fair Game. True political dramas arising from the secrets of a riveting vault and becoming headline news across our nation are natural material for the big screen. This movie treatment of what happened to Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA officer outed by one of her own, was probably hitting the computer keys from day one after it broke in the media.

Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) thrives on her job as a covert officer in the CIA’s counter-proliferation department. She’s also thorough and not afraid to make ripples in her own playground if she sees fit to do so. When she sets out on a course to prove there are no active nuclear weapons in Iraq, prominent eyebrows are raised.

On a collision course with Valerie is her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn). He’s the former ambassador to Niger who gets an assignment to travel to Africa in search of leads involving Africa selling uranium to Iraq. When his findings are questioned and ultimately denied by the White House, Joe takes matters into this own hands and writes about his discovery for The New York Times. This event causes the backlash that supposedly outs Valerie.

While each of these scenarios could sustain an entire film on its own, Fair Game is really about Valerie and Joe’s marriage, especially the aftermath of what happened to each of them in their careers.

Watts and Penn bring authenticity to their roles. Watts, who looks a lot like the real Valerie Plame, spent time with Plame and did lots of research to get into her role. Valerie’s life takes on a merry-go-round of worries while she’s trying to figure out which problem will fly off first and need attention. Does she stress over trying to clear her name, worry about others in the line of fire that will fall because of what they say she did, or focus on completing the exit of an Iraq scientist and his family to the US? Through every problem and afterthought Watts brings heightened emotion to her portrayal of Valerie. It’s an intense turning-of-the-page scenario waiting to get answers and solutions that themselves begin to derail the couple’s marriage.

Penn rarely creates a character who lacks gravitas, and his Joe Wilson is no exception. He’s a bull in the china cabinet as Joe pursues the truth about Iraq -- and a no-holds-barred warrior while trying to clear his wife’s name and justify his own findings. Yet Penn shows true compassion when Joe and Valerie’s relationship begins to unravel.

Other actors who portray convincing roles in the movie include David Andrews as Scooter Libby, Sam Shepard as Sam Plame, Noah Emmerich as Bill and Bruce McGill as Jim Pavett.

An intriguing action-packed drama, Fair Game will probably please most viewers who enjoyed All the President’s Men, Frost/Nixon and other similar political movies.  

(Released by Summit Entertainment and rated “PG-13” for some language.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com.