Beckinsale stars as Rachel Armstrong, a reporter for a DC newspaper who writes a story revealing that the wife of an ambassador is actually a deep cover CIA agent. Sparks fly, and the government gets upset that one of their own was compromised so publicly. A special prosecutor is appointed, Patton Dubois (Matt Dillon), whose sole goal is to find out who leaked the classified information to Rachel. To do so, he leans hard on Rachel, even though she is defended by top-flight attorney Alan Burnside (Alan Alda); Rachel refuses to budge and so goes to jail.
The story touches upon First Amendment rights vs. the needs of the government to protect its covert operatives, and some nice speeches are made on both topics; but really the film is more interested in the personal choices Rachel has to make, whether her principles are worth going to jail and possibly sacrificing her family for. The larger issues loom, but they take a backseat to the personal through most of the film.
Most of the performances are very strong. Vera Farmiga is excellent as Erica, the CIA agent who is revealed to the world; she shows us both the human and the steely side of the woman, a textured turn. Noah Wyle is the paper's legal counsel, giving a very energetic turn as a lawyer who grows increasingly outraged with the government's use of power against Rachel. David Schwimmer plays Rachel's husband, Ray, not the most sympathetic role, but he delivers. Alda is excellent as the high-powered attorney whose humanity walks hand in hand with his ego; he's strong throughout and gets a very nice speech toward the end.
But the film really belongs to Beckinsale, who gives probably her best performance to date as the principled Rachel, and especially to Matt Dillon, whose Dubois is sketched perfectly (I've read Dillon played the role not as an antagonist but as a man who sees himself as the good guy, and that approach worked terrifically). Both Beckinsale and Dillon are sharp, strong, and understated, and both make effective arguments for their points of view, although naturally as the victim our sympathies lie with Beckinsale. Her scenes with her son are particularly effective, even as he begins to distance himself from her as her jail sentence begins to unexpectedly stretch on; but she balances the strength a person must have to stand up for one's principles nicely with the all-too-human weaknesses in the face of having what we cherish threatened.
The film doesn't give any easy answers, and there is a nice plot twist at the end that I felt effectively highlights Rachel's humanity; we like her throughout the film but even moreso when we know the whole story. This is certainly a film worth checking out, for Dillon's deft performance alone if nothing else; but I think most people will find this a compelling, well-told story.
The story touches upon First Amendment rights vs. the needs of the government to protect its covert operatives, and some nice speeches are made on both topics; but really the film is more interested in the personal choices Rachel has to make, whether her principles are worth going to jail and possibly sacrificing her family for. The larger issues loom, but they take a backseat to the personal through most of the film.
Most of the performances are very strong. Vera Farmiga is excellent as Erica, the CIA agent who is revealed to the world; she shows us both the human and the steely side of the woman, a textured turn. Noah Wyle is the paper's legal counsel, giving a very energetic turn as a lawyer who grows increasingly outraged with the government's use of power against Rachel. David Schwimmer plays Rachel's husband, Ray, not the most sympathetic role, but he delivers. Alda is excellent as the high-powered attorney whose humanity walks hand in hand with his ego; he's strong throughout and gets a very nice speech toward the end.
But the film really belongs to Beckinsale, who gives probably her best performance to date as the principled Rachel, and especially to Matt Dillon, whose Dubois is sketched perfectly (I've read Dillon played the role not as an antagonist but as a man who sees himself as the good guy, and that approach worked terrifically). Both Beckinsale and Dillon are sharp, strong, and understated, and both make effective arguments for their points of view, although naturally as the victim our sympathies lie with Beckinsale. Her scenes with her son are particularly effective, even as he begins to distance himself from her as her jail sentence begins to unexpectedly stretch on; but she balances the strength a person must have to stand up for one's principles nicely with the all-too-human weaknesses in the face of having what we cherish threatened.
The film doesn't give any easy answers, and there is a nice plot twist at the end that I felt effectively highlights Rachel's humanity; we like her throughout the film but even moreso when we know the whole story. This is certainly a film worth checking out, for Dillon's deft performance alone if nothing else; but I think most people will find this a compelling, well-told story.