A miscalculated piece damaged by poor direction, mediocre writing and performances that feel consistently misguided and off-key.
Comment
09/09/08
Nothing But the Truth (2008)
80
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:49
Fresh:39
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: A well-crafted political thriller, Nothing But the Truth features a strong cast that helps the real-life drama make an effortless transition to the big screen.
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Inspired by real-life political events, director Rod Lurie (THE CONTENDER) once again delves into issues of power and gender with NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, an engaging thriller about the right to a... [More]
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Alan Alda
Director: Rod Lurie
Reviews for Nothing But the Truth
With her bravura turn in Rod Lurie's engrossing political drama Nothing But The Truth, Kate Beckinsale has staked a strong claim for her first Academy Award nomination.
09/10/08
The last-minute switcheroo suggests, perhaps unintentionally, that Rachel is less a martyr to the cause than a schemer looking to cover her tracks.
12/19/08
Top CriticIn this engrossing political thriller, Kate Beckinsale's focused and sympathetic as the reporter who goes to jail to protect her source, and Vera Farmiga shines in the volatile supporting role of a government operative who loses her family because of her
02/01/09
Among the many achievements in Lurie's script is how it manages to swing the viewer's sympathies toward Armstrong.
12/17/08
Rod Lurie's crisp take on the Valerie Plame case-with Vera Farmiga standing in for Plame and Kate Beckinsale for Judith Miller-is admirably bluster-free but suffers at times from movie-of-the-week syndrome.
12/17/08
Should find favor with audiences eager for movies driven by characterization, ideas and the performances of actors whose screen presence offers as much justification for the existence of cinema as any camera trick, flashy montage or special effect.
05/07/09
should bring a deserved burnishing to auteur Lurie's regard in the creative community
03/16/09
A political thriller about a journalist who becomes a spiritual warrior and boldy and courageously demonstrates the moral virtue of fortitude.
12/18/08
If you think you know the premise or believe that this is just a fictional retelling of the Judith Miller scandal from a few years back, I beg you to leave those preconceptions at the door. I know I went in with my own. Nothing But the Truth is none of
12/17/08
The best thing about Nothing But the Truth is Vera Farmiga.
12/19/08
Though Nothing But The Truth is fundamentally an independent undertaking, it boasts a star cast including Kate Beckinsale, Angela Basset, Matt Dillon and Alan Alda among others who provide the kind of performances for which the majors pay big bucks.
12/05/08
Despite [it being] about a journalist at a powerful newspaper who is jailed for refusing to name her source, Nothing but the Truth has nothing to do with you know what or who.
12/17/08
Top CriticKate Beckinsale and Vera Farmiga's terrific work is easily the best reason to watch.
01/01/09
I expect the cast, particularly Beckinsale, and Lurie's script to get a lot of attention in the next few months.
09/10/08
A finely-crafted film of people and ideas, of the sort more common before the movie mainstream became a sausage factory.
05/01/09
Top CriticThe film pitches into old-school melodrama -- women in chains and all kinds of chaos, courtesy of men. But the film takes a next step too, aligning Erica and Rachel’s experiences in order to indict the old boys’ system.
12/30/08
There’s a halfway point when the rush of watching the inner machinations of power players turns into the listless predictability of a TV courtroom drama, crossed with the voyeurism of a mild grindhouse prison movie.
12/17/08
Nothing But the Truth has been made with brains, pace, and skill, and with a topical fury that puts it ahead of the curve on its real subject: the withering of freedom in a democracy gone apathetic.
12/10/08
Thoughtful and incendiary, stressing the ever-increasing threats to civil liberties in the name of national security.
12/24/08
Latest News for Nothing But the Truth
May 01, 2009:
Rod Lurie Tells Nothing But the Truth 
With two movies headed to theaters last fall, it looked like 2008 was going to be a banner year for Rod Lurie -- but everything can change in the blink of a studio bankruptcy,... More...
January 08, 2009:
Broadcast Film Critics Name Critics' Choice Winners
The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards were given on January 8, 2009, to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking. A list of nominees follows below, with winners in bold: More...
December 19, 2008:
Five Favorite Films with Director Rod Lurie
Nothing But the Truth director Rod Lurie (The Contender) took a circuitous route to Hollywood -- he was an army officer and an entertainment reporter before perching himself in... More...
December 09, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
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