Nothing But the Truth [Blu-ray]

Drama Based on Newspaper Headlines
"Nothing But the Truth" is based on the events surrounding the prison sentence of "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller after she refused to reveal the source who identified undercover CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Prompted by a failed assassination attempt on the President of the United States, investigative reporter Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale) discovers that a neighborhood woman is a CIA operative. Rachel believes she has happened upon the Big Story, and is backed by her editor (Angela Bassett), the newspaper's legal counsel (Noah Wyle), and her First Amendment lawyer (Alan Alda). Federal prosecutor Patton Dubois (Matt Dillon) wants her to name her sources. She refuses and is thrown in jail for contempt of court. She thinks she will soon be released, but as her incarceration lengthens, her relationship with husband (David Schwimmer) and son (Preston Bailey) starts to deteriorate.
Performances are first-rate in this tense political thriller. Beckinsale is...

Must-see DVD
The smart, engrossing political thriller in the tradition of All the President's Men has a welcome female twist: two working mommies -- one a DC journalist (Kate Beckinsale), one a CIA agent (Vera Farmiga) -- cross paths on their kids' soccer field with disastrous results. Beckinsale clearly doesn't need a rubber catsuit to be terrific; she's focused, genuine, and sympathetic as the investigative reporter whose first big scoop crumples the career and family of her spook subject, with plenty of collateral damage in her own life when she goes to prison for withholding her source's name. And The Departed's Farmiga balances between dangerous adversary and wounded mother in a volatile supporting role.

The Truth Hurts
The freedom of the press, issues of national security, and the consequences of standing by one's personal principles are all on trial in "Nothing But the Truth." I'm not sure why the reviews here tend to be so negative, save the ranting of those who fail to see that this film represents two sides.

Kate Beckinsale plays the role of a journalist who writes a story implicating the government's top echelons in declaring an act of war with trumped-up evidence. Matt Dillon plays the prosecutor who pressures her to reveal her source--since that source has violated the law by naming a covert CIA agent, played to great effect by Vera Farmiga. Yes, the plot has some obvious correlations to events of the past few years, which seems to be the thorn in the side of some reviewers, but it gives both sides important things to say. While the film does center around Beckinsale, building sympathy for her, it also gives Dillon's character a chance to stand by his own moral codes to protect his...

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