Full Disclosure (2000)

Investigative reporter John McWhirter (Fred Ward) in Full Disclosure falls somewhere between sanctimonious anchorman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) in Network and mercurial father Frank Scott (Michael Brandon) in Dinotopia. His once-stellar reporting career is slowly sinking into drink when he gloms onto an assassination story that could reburnish his reputation. Unfortunately, he has just become personally involved in the developing story through two socialist activists he has known since college 30 years ago. (Their history, a skein that is slowly unraveled for us, provides the reason why John agrees to help them and also contributes to the dangers that emerge from his decision and inexorably uncoil themselves in his sight as well as ours.) John has agreed to briefly and discreetly harbor Armiti Khalq (Rachel Ticotin), a mysterious woman who turns out to be pivotal to his story and pursued by the FBI. John and Armiti establish a baseline detente and gradually build a mutual consensus that reaches its ultimate expression in several dimensions. Perhaps to atone for his sins of the past, John is determined to redeem and prove his character even if it's the last thing he does. Meanwhile, Michelle (Penelope Ann Miller) appears as an accomplished assassin in a delicious role that's my favorite. (That's her with John on the cover art. She's not quite Anton Chigurh but she could have been the perky offspring of Anton and La Femme Nikita.) Virginia Madsen plays John's sympathetic publisher and Christopher Plummer is the FBI chief who is determined to run John to ground. Full Disclosure is a pretty good show. You might not like the ending but this film is slightly better than average and well worth a watch. You could do much worse. I had to rent it through a competing service since it has been a Save title here for many moons. 3.5 stars.