Fair Game (Doug Liman, 2010)

 

Fearless political movies coming from America is a hard thing to find. Whenever a new political movie from America lands in front of me I can't help but think of another movie called Love And Anarchy by Lina Wertmuller made in 1973 in Italy. The comparison of any type of American political movie with Love And Anarchy shows that America is such a conservative country, afraid to speak openly and boldly about political issues. Most political movies coming from America, even the good ones, have a very specific threshold that makes them never to go beyond the "acceptable" boundaries. Of course there are exceptions like some Oliver Stone's movies or the 2015 exceptional, biographical, masterpiece Trumbo, but the bulk of American political movies are definitely playing it safe. It has to do with that inner conservatism that torments this country and its inhabitants. Everything must be by the book. Everything must be neat, nice, good and polite. Well you ain't going to make a fucking political movie if you play it so nice, that's the awful truth. 

I saw Fair Game one night on TV and I didn't know that movie as I hardly knew Doug Liman (I had seen only The Bourne Identity by him and didn't like it as I liked the sequels of that movie). I can say with ease that I was astonished by the film's sincerity and raw voice. Apart from having an amazing acting duo of Naomi Watts and Sean Penn the film featured comments and moments that were questioning the political situation in America. Without being particularly groundbreaking the film had a clear agenda and aura that wanted to shake the foundation of the American political system and way of thinking. The movie clearly was trying to make you reflect on the issues that was dealing with. And it was that openness of the movie that got me so deep and it makes me even today think of some of the most daring moments of the movie. Maybe it didn't feature the rawness of European political movies, but the film had a tangible maturity that you couldn't miss or misjudge. Fair Game finally is a movie that I would gladly watch again and feel the same pleasure that there are voices out there who want to dare and shake the foundations of the political state in America.