movie review: Nothing But the Truth

“Though inspired by actual events, the following is a fictional film that does not depict any actual people or events.” So reads the disclaimer that precedes “Nothing But the Truth,” a political drama written and directed by Rod Lurie that draws heavily upon the 2005 saga of New York Times reporter Judith Miller and CIA agent Valerie Plame for its story. Those words practically beg you to draw comparisons between the film and its source material. It’s a dubious exercise.

Kate Beckinsdale plays journalist Rachel Armstrong, who goes to jail for refusing to reveal a source to a federal grand jury. The source in question has broken the law by revealing the identity of undercover CIA agent Erica Van Doren, played by Vera Farmiga. Sound familiar?

Lurie’s story echoes the Plame affair even as it diverges from it. A misguided war backdrops both stories, and different as they may sound, they serve much the same purpose. In the film, the Iraq war is a struggle with Venezuela; and the war’s antecedent is not the 9/11 attacks, but an assassination attempt on a fictitious U.S. President. But despite the many similarities, factually and thematically, between the stories of Rachel Armstrong and Judith Miller, the former cannot be seen simply as a screen version of the latter. Rachel Armstrong brings with her none of the experience – and none of the baggage – of her real-life counterpart. Not the Pulitzer Prize, not the bungled reporting on WMDs. Secondly, Rachel Armstrong provides next to no commentary on Judith Miller. They are two different women thrust into impossibly similar circumstances.

The story of “Nothing But the Truth” dances with that of the Plame affair in quite a complicated fashion; unfortunately, it does very little to inform it. If Rod Lurie has filmed the story of Judith Miller without saying anything about her, then what has he done? He’s given us a tale about the sacrifices that accompany journalistic integrity, if you’re into that sort of thing. More importantly, he’s provided a platform for Kate Beckinsdale to show some chops.

An up-and-coming journalist married to a burgeoning novelist, Rachel Armstrong is an icy opportunist; at the beginning of the film, she appears to be at least as interested in what breaking her story will do for her career as in its political implications. She’s cocky and cool and a pleasure to watch. After she’s thrown in jail, though, she’s revealed to be steadfast and brave, unwilling to jeopardize her journalistic principles under any circumstances. And while the quality of Beckinsdale’s performance never diminishes, her character does become less interesting after she goes all holier than thou.

The film throws a wrinkle into the mix in its use of Rachel’s husband and son, who show the effects that an incarcerated wife and mother can have on a family. Their pain opens the possibility that Rachel’s decision is perhaps not heroic; that her decision to withhold her source may not be selfless, but rather selfish.

A strong supporting cast features Angela Bassett as the ever-supportive newspaper editor, Alan Alda as the defense lawyer, and Matt Dillon as the unflappable federal prosecutor, the closest the film comes to a villain. David Schwimmer also appears, as Rachel’s husband. None of them leaves a lasting impression. There isn’t a whole lot for them to work with in the script.

This is all familiar terrain for Lurie, who directed the 2001 prison picture “The Last Castle,” and created the TV show “Commander in Chief,” which starred Geena Davis as the first female president. He’s attempted to punch up this story. There are some gunshots, a little sex, a jailhouse beat-down. And these efforts are, for the most part, appreciated. Also admirable is the modesty with which he infuses them; while alternately a political drama, a prison drama and a courthouse drama, the film never tries to be a thriller. It’s tempting to say that “Nothing But the Truth” fails to realize the potential of its premise. But then again, sometimes the facts are just more interesting than the fiction.