Lurie's style has grown increasingly fluid, and the players (especially Farmiga) deliver, but he tosses everything away with the last twist.
Nothing But the Truth (2008)
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... 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 free press and the price of principles. As the film opens, the president of the United States has survived an assassination attempt. Believing that the leader of Venezuela was behind the plot, the U.S. launches a military attack against the country. In Washington, D.C., reporter Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale) has revealed that Erica Van Doren (Vera Farmiga), the wife of the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, is a C.I.A. operative who found no proof of a plot. Armstrong quickly finds herself contending with both Van Doren and special prosecutor Patton DuBois (Matt Dillon), hellbent on discovering Armstrong's source. When she refuses to reveal her source, Armstrong is jailed for contempt of court. In the troubled year that follows both women will confront the harsh realities of life during wartime, including the questioning of their patriotism and even threats to their lives. As a Supreme Court hearing draws near, and with her family cracking under the strain, Armstrong must decide whether her individual needs trump the importance of civil liberties. Lurie ably balances the personal struggles with the political machinations, while Beckinsale and Farmiga compellingly convey each woman's strength of conviction. The result is a challenging, chillingly relevant cautionary tale about truth and consequences. [More]
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Alan Alda
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Alan Alda, Vera Farmiga, David Schwimmer, Courtney B. Vance, Noah Wyle, Floyd Abrams, Preston Bailey
Director: Rod Lurie
Director: Rod Lurie
Screenwriter: Rod Lurie
Producer: Bob Yari, Marc Frydman, Rod Lurie
Composer: Larry Groupe
Studio: Yari Film Group
Reviews for Nothing But the Truth
All this plays out in brisk fashion, and the actors, who also include Alan Alda as Rachel's venerable lawyer, mostly seem to be having a high old time.
Nothing But The Truth operates a lot like Billy Ray's Shattered Glass and Breach, offering up the sort of no-nonsense, meat-and-potatoes docudrama that's in short supply these days.
The last-minute switcheroo suggests, perhaps unintentionally, that Rachel is less a martyr to the cause than a schemer looking to cover her tracks.
The two lead actresses play superbly rounded characters, both smart, tough customers unused to being pushed around, yet wives and mothers whose domestic concerns are as important to them as professional ones.
A political thriller about a journalist who becomes a spiritual warrior and boldy and courageously demonstrates the moral virtue of fortitude.
When the main source is finally revealed, it should be fodder for conversation but seems more like a punchline.
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.
Lurie has crafted a different kind of thriller, one with a mind and a heart.
The sexing up/dumbing down fails to compensate for the gobs of punishingly dull blah-blah about crusading reporters.
Though a final, sly revelation stacks the deck a bit, Truth makes a smart, measured case out of a real-life drama that wound up far less heroically.
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.
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
Among the many achievements in Lurie's script is how it manages to swing the viewer's sympathies toward Armstrong.
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.
Lurie isn't Larry Cohen, let alone Sam Fuller, but give him points for working the same tradition of engagé tabloid filmmaking.
Most importantly, the film takes the issue beyond just journalistic integrity and the government's intrusion. It looks at real life.
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.
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.
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 ![]()
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