Review: ‘Mark Felt’ is not for the average Joe

Liam Neeson sinks into a commanding new role here and for a nice change of pace, is not chasing bad people in the normal action sense.

Instead, he portrays a character who was best-known during US president Richard Nixon’s downfall as the legendary Watergate mole, “Deep Throat”, in Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House.

In real life “Deep Throat” was Mark Felt, the deputy associate director of the FBI who finally revealed his “secret” in the pages of Vanity Fair in 2005. It was one of the most dramatic reveals in American history.

Writer and director Peter Landesman doesn’t have a great deal with which to work, since the truth has already been revealed, and there is not much drama left in the story. But he certainly tries to entertain, although I am not too sure he succeeds.

In spite of a strong performance from Neeson, the production will be more relevant to students of political history rather than your average cinemagoer. It comes across as an engrossing TV-movie that whets your appetite for a more definitive treatment of this engaging subject as it could have gone far deeper and been more exploratory.

What we have here is a story of government leaks from the highest levels, a corrupt president, internecine battles between rival factions of the Washington power establishment and the national hunger for a cathartic whistle-blower.

The movie is peppered with some potent on-screen moments as the narrative unfolds and the audience comes to grips with the various players in an explosive scenario.

Felt, who worked closely with J Edgar Hoover, the FBI director for 30 years, explains how Hoover’s fabled system of “private files” worked.

The FBI gathered up pieces of information – gossip, embarrassing tidbits on romantic affairs, both straight and gay – about the people who worked in Washington. He then informed them that their secrets would be safe with him. This meant he’d got the goods to blackmail half of Washington.

Felt believed that Hoover committed a necessary evil by using the sleaziness of his operation to keep the FBI independent.

The production reveals how Felt risked and sacrificed everything, including his family, career and, ultimately, his freedom, to bring down a corrupt government.

Info

Cast: Liam Neeson, Diane Lane, Marton Csokas, Tony Goldwyn, Josh Lucas.

Director: Peter Landesman

Classification: 10-12 PGL