Nothing But the Truth

Has anyone seen this movie? I hope no one posted about this movie already!
My partner and I rented Nothing But the Truth last night. I was expecting little more than the average CIA related drama, but it was actually surprisingly good, in my opinion.
The story is that Rachel Armstrong (played by the wonderful Kate Beckinsale) is a journalist for the Sun Times. She writes a story outing a CIA operative, Erica Van Dorn (Vera Farmiga). Since outing a CIA operative is illegal, the federal government needs to know who Armstrong’s source was…but Armstrong refuses to give it up. Throughout the movie, Armstrong is pressured greatly to give up her source, but refuses; instead she chooses to protect both her source and her integrity as a journalist.

The reason this is relevant to feminism is because the fact that Armstrong is a mother adds another level of drama. The federal prosecutor, Patton Dubois (played by Matt Dillon), seem to use Armstrong’s son to try to get her to talk. In an interview while in jail, Armstrong talks about how many women probably don’t understand what she’s doing, and before it all happened, she herself would not have understood. Also, Armstrong’s husband, Ray (David Schwimmer) is supportive of Armstrong in the beginning but quickly loses support as Armstrong’s time in jail continues. It could be read that her husband thought it was OK for her to write the story until it affected him. He was unwilling to offer his support when it meant their prolonged seperation. He even begins having an affair.
Armstrong’s lawyer is extrememly supportive the whole movie and believes that Armstrong is doing the right thing. In fact he encourages her and in the end, seems to be the last one by her side. In a moment of desperatation for him, when he is unsure what the federal government will do next and how far they will go, he tries to convince Armstrong to reveal her source, and brings up her son. Armstrong’s response was awesome and is something like this (I’m doing this from memory, so this not exact): “When a man leaves his children to go to jail, we name a holiday after him. When a man leaves his children to fight a war, we build a monument for him. But when a woman does it, she’s a monster.”
Whoa. Hit the nail right on the head there!
We see through the movie how her son is affected by all this. In the beginning he is talkative and tries to get moms attention, but by the end he is withdrawn and not very responsive to her attempts at reconciliation.
I will say that Armstrong mentions a couple times that if she knew how writing this story would affect her son, she wouldnt have done it. It seems like shes apologizing for her actions. But I’m not sure I really believe her. I think she says that for the benefit of the others around her. She is a journalist first, a wife and a mother second. In the end, she loses custody of her son and has to go to jail. This might be read by some as proof that she was wrong in her choice, but I think it shows how women are villianized when they make certain choices.
Another interesting feature is the portrayal of power. Both the prosecutor, Dubois, and Armstrong were doing their jobs and fighting, in essence, for their principles. Armstrong would not reveal her source, and was exercising her journalistic power. Dubois was relentless in his attempt to make Armstrong reveal that source. It was his only present assignment and therfore had unlimited resources and time to make her talk. It was clear he was on a power trip even though he said he was just trying to do his job.
(Another point I just remembered. Ray Armstrong is a writer and at one point Rachel Armstrong mentions to someone that yes he is still writing, all day, everyday. THe movie doesn’t go into much detail about this, but perhaps she is signaling that he is free to write whenever he chooses, but she must sacrifice her journalistic time to care for her son. Well that is just speculation, but it’s an interesting thought. I hope all the comments aren’t just about this point.)
I found the film to be really good, and neither my partner nor I had guessed the ending. It portrayed the struggle of countless women, trying to have a career and an independent life, while raising a family. While this was an extreme example of that (jail and all), I think the film did a really good job.
I am definitely interested in your thoughts, whether or not you’ve seen the film!