Category Archives: Political Suspense

2008, Based on true facts, Crude Talk, Drama, FBI, Lawyers, Political Suspense, Prison, Wonderful acting

Nothing But the Truth (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Journalist Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale) turns Washington on its ear when she outs a casual acquaintance (Vera Farmiga) as a CIA agent. The government’s formidable prosecutor (Matt Dillon) sends Rachel to jail for contempt, where she discovers the true impact of her decision. David Schwimmer and Alan Alda co-star in this drama from Rod Lurie, the politically savvy filmmaker behind The Contender and “Commander in Chief.”

Watching this film might make you angry or fearful or both. But in any case you could not possibly be bored.

Acting is superb on everyone’s part. The story line is coherent and easy to follow.

As the film progressed I started to wonder why the heroine (can you guess where my sympathy lay?) held on. When I finally understood who her source was, then I really had to question the validity of her endurance. Any comments on this point?

Remember that this film is fiction. Try to watch it without reference to past events. After that you might enjoy reading about the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent during the Cheney administration. An easy source for this is the Wikipedia article. To save time you could begin reading at the section called “Plamegate”. This article mentions that a film more directly related to Plamegate was entitled “Fair Game” named after the book written by Valerie Plame and starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. Always it struck me as odd that no one was prosecuted as a traitor for outing a CIA agent.

Not an easy watch but certainly an engrossing 107 minutes.

2011, Drama, Not Feel Good, Polish, Political Suspense, Sex Scenes

The Mole (2011)

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A father and son run a business importing used clothes from France to Poland. When the son discovers his father’s photo in a tabloid newspaper with the accusation that he was a secret informer – instead of the Solidarity hero he always looked up to – the son begins to have doubts.

Life in Poland under the Communists meant living in an atmosphere of fear. Solidarity members had the courage to stand up to the regime and sometimes lost their lives or freedom as a result. In this film we see a father and son very close to one another only to have that love threatened by revelations from the past. Well-made with fine acting, the portrayal of doubt creeping into the life of the family is very well done. Even the potentially mundane daily activities (coaxing a child to eat) are never boring and possibly add to the underlying tension of wanting everything to be alright even though something is amiss.

We saw this Polish film (with English subtitles) at a neighborhood film festival. Unfortunately NetFlix does not currently offer the film. But if you get a chance to see this film, the viewing is well worth the time.

2011, Based on true facts, Cynical, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Political Suspense, Sex Scenes, Wonderful acting

The Ides of March (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman’s (Ryan Gosling) idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where “victory” is relative. The film, directed by George Clooney, is inspired by the real-life experiences of an aide who worked on Howard Dean’s failed 2004 run.

Sometimes a film with many “stars” can be a disaster. But this time the combination of Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Paul Giamatti has produced a superb political film.

“Loss of Innocence” is the sad theme of the story. Idealistic Ryan Gosling makes some personal mistakes and also discovers the dark side of handsome, well-spoken (“smooth” is the better word), and inspiring George Clooney. Hoffman and Giamatti contribute the elements of cynical compromise. Acting could not be better. Both Gosling and Clooney have mastered the art of having their eyes mirror their emotions.

Marisa Tomei plays a newspaper reporter who is not to be trusted.

For a better understanding of the title you could read the Wikipedia article. Even there I could find no reference to the Howard Dean compaign.

You have a treat in store. DO NOT MISS!

2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, British, Complicated, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Cynical, DO NOT MISS, Flirting, Love Story, Made For TV, Political Suspense, Suspense, Terrorist Attack, Torture, TV Series, Wonderful acting

MI-5

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From NetFlix:

This award-winning series dramatizes the professional exploits and personal lives of the “spooks” of MI-5, the British equivalent of the FBI. No-nonsense head officer Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) guides a band of dedicated spies who risk their lives every day. The team includes expert and junior members who must balance real life with the job’s requirement for complete secrecy, no matter the cost. Matthew Macfadyen and Richard Armitage co-star.

Beginning in 2002 and continuing at least to 2010, this British TV-series is “utterly smashing”. Intense, sometimes hard to watch, but incredibly exciting in just about every episode. What makes some episodes difficult to watch is that the members of MI-5 are forced at times to make hard decisions that involve “collateral damage” (meaning some poor soul dies), so much so that those members are often damaged themselves and actually leave MI-5 (i.e. leave the show). In fact, be prepared for many, sometimes disappointing cast changes. For example Rupert William Penry-Jones (the character Adam Carter) started the show and then disappeared for awhile to be replaced by Matthew Macfadyen (the character Tom Quinn) who then leaves the show and is replaced by Rupert William Penry-Jones.

There are too many wonderful characters to even mention them. You can find them all listed in IMDB.

In addition to spook plots, there are also many romances. But any romance for a member of MI-5 is next to impossible because even their significant others cannot know what these spooks do for a living.

2005, Political Suspense, Redemption, Revenge, Suspense, Terrorist Attack, Violent

The Interpreter (2005)

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From NetFlix:

Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) is a linguist whose job is to translate for her assigned delegate the complex issues facing the United Nations. But her daily challenge turns perilous when she overhears a plot to assassinate a high-ranking government official. Suddenly in the crosshairs of the conspirators, Silvia — with help from a Secret Service agent (Sean Penn) — must unravel an intricate web of intrigue to save herself.

Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman parry well (and thank goodness they don’t fall into the cliche of becoming lovers. Oops! did I give something away? But romance is not the point of this film at all!). Each has his or her own sorrow which eventually comes forth. Actually the theme is whether to forgive or avenge a wrong.

Details might be hard to follow at times. There is, of course, violence. In a way this is a mystery story: what’s really happening?

I was amused to see quite a few “Law and Order” participants. But then who hasn’t been on “Law and Order”?

Although the film is nothing special, I stayed glued to see the conclusion.