In 2003, Valerie Plame looked the part of any successful working mother.  She ran a household, reared a set of twins, and had a typical office job. Or so it would seem. In reality, she was a covert CIA operative who was in charge of various operations overseas.

After years of cultivating contacts and relationships, her entire life was exposed when Washington Post scribe Robert Novak outed her as a CIA operative in an article in the publication. The incident was thought to be a retaliatory action against her family after her husband, ex-diplomat Joe Wilson,  wrote a series of scathing op-ed pieces indicting the Bush administration and their assertion that Iraq had acquired uranium from Niger. Wilson maintained that the administration was manipulating the evidence to justify the Iraq invasion.

Ultimately, White House aide Scooter Libby was revealed as the source for Novak’s piece. He was tried and found guilty of obstruction of justice, making false statements, and perjury.  His sentence was commuted by George Bush in 2007.

Fair Game brings to life a fictionalized account of the story behind the story.  If you are a newshound, you already know the details of the case, but what the movie does a great job of is illuminating the far reaching consequences of the administration’s decision to out her.

It wasn’t just Plame and her family who suffered, the administration has the blood of foreigners on their hands as well.  Many of Plame’s contacts suffered or died as a direct result of her being outed.  That makes the whole ugly mess more difficult to swallow.

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Remember Valerie Plame?  She was the CIA agent who was outed by White House Staffers when her husband wrote an op-ed for the New York Times that condemned the Bush administration for fabricating intelligence that led us into the Iraq war.

In the upcoming movie Fair Game, Plame is played by Aussie actress Naomi Watts. Her husband, Joe Wilson, is played by Sean Penn. The film is directed by Doug Liman, who previously directed The Bourne Identity, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, so he obviously knows his way around a spy thriller.

If I might editorialize briefly, what do you think of casting Sean Penn in a politically charged role?  He did star in Milk, but he has been so outspoken about the Iraq war that it seems a little off-putting to me. He is a wonderful actor, and Watts is always solid, so I am sure the movie will be intriguing.

You can catch the trailer after the jump. Fair Game opens in theaters November 5.

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