An Acceptable Loss 2019

As Elizabeth “Libby” Lamm, a renowned national security expert (Sumpter), takes up her role as an adjunct professor of foreign policy at the esteemed Grant University, she is met with a chilly reception from the academic community. This is partly due to her high-profile past as the former national security adviser to U.S. Vice President Rachel Burke (Curtis). Amidst protests and tension, Libby’s arrival sparks a flurry of suspicion among her colleagues, including her assistant and another professor who confronts her at a university mixer. The controversy surrounding her involvement in a US military strike on Homs, as revealed later in the film through an op-ed published by Capital Dispatch, further fuels the skepticism.

Libby’s paranoia is palpable as she takes extraordinary measures to safeguard her personal life. She eschews modern conveniences like email, cell phones, landlines, and computers, instead relying on analog methods to stay connected with the world. Each night, she retreats to her study, where she feverishly scribbles notes on a dozen or more filled notebooks, locking them away in a vintage safe purchased from an antique shop. With a loaded Glock 17 always at her side, Libby walks through her home with heightened vigilance, alert to even the faintest unfamiliar sounds.

Unbeknownst to Libby, she is being stalked by Martin Salhi (Ben Tavassoli), a reclusive graduate student at the university who deliberately keeps his distance from his roommate Jordan (Alex Weisman). Martin’s peculiar behavior and withdrawn nature only serve to heighten Libby’s unease. He begins by following her home and later creates fake lawn service flyers as a pretext to case her residence. Under the guise of an innocent lawn care service, he breaks into her home, installing miniature cameras to monitor her every move. With an unnerving intensity, Martin watches Libby secure her notebooks in the safe, further solidifying his grip on her life.

As Dr. Lamm is going about her daily routine at home, she receives an unexpected visit from Adrian (Jeff Hephner), the president’s chief of staff, who once held a special place in her heart during his tenure as a policy adviser in the White House. Their past romantic involvement becomes a central point of contention when Adrian requests that Dr. Lamm maintain confidentiality regarding the Homs operation, to which she firmly refuses. This refusal prompts Adrian to return, this time making demands for her unwavering support and loyalty towards the administration. Dr. Lamm’s outrage at these demands ultimately leads her to dismiss her class early and rush back home.

Upon arriving at her residence, she finds Martin attempting to break into her safe. As she confronts him with a gun, Martin reveals that he has been stalking her, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how someone like Dr. Lamm could have been involved in the devastating attack on Homs. His motivations are rooted in a personal connection; his family and loved ones lived in Homs, and he is consumed by a desire to understand the face of evil that perpetrated such destruction.

As she holds Martin at gunpoint, Dr. Lamm imparts her memoir notes, detailing her experiences and insights as she writes about the events leading up to the attack on Homs. Her narrative exposes the aggression and manipulation behind the operation, which she hopes will be published for the world to see.

Four years prior, Dr. Lamm finds herself in the midst of high-stakes deliberations within the White House situation room, advising a team comprising the president, vice-president, and other key officials on a plan with far-reaching implications. The proposed strategy, endorsed by Vice President Burke, involves a nuclear strike aimed at eliminating five leaders of the most dangerous terrorist groups, as well as a nuclear scientist, who were scheduled to convene in Homs, Syria to discuss their collective strategy.

Despite her reservations about the conventional approach, Dr. Lamm’s concerns are overshadowed when Vice President Burke overwhelmingly endorses Plan 712. This decision ultimately leads to a devastating attack that claims the lives of its intended targets and an additional 150,000 innocent civilians. It becomes clear that the intelligence used to justify this attack was manufactured by Dr. Lamm on behalf of Vice President Burke.

As Martin finishes devouring the explosive revelations contained within Dr. Lamm’s memoir, her once peaceful home is breached by a clandestine squad of undercover agents. Dr. Lamm and Martin embark on a perilous flight from capture, driven by her determination to present the incriminating document to her father, Phillip Lamm (Clarke Peters), the formidable chief editor of the Springfield Register. The night air proves no refuge, as they find solace on the beach, only for Martin to awaken to an eerie silence - Dr. Lamm’s absence, coupled with a trail of abandoned notes, hinting at her own clandestine escape. It is here that she stumbles upon a hidden truth: the agents’ true intention was not merely to capture them, but to use their unwitting cooperation as bait to sniff out any remaining copies of the memoir.

As Dr. Lamm finds herself trapped in a damp, dimly lit basement, President Rachel Burke’s (unnamed) smooth words and calculated charm attempt to ensnare her into joining the cabinet as Secretary of State, promising in exchange to bury the incriminating manuscript beneath a mountain of political expediency. But Dr. Lamm remains resolute, refusing to surrender to the president’s overtures, aware that the agents’ surveillance has left them vulnerable, and that any subsequent revelations could spell disaster for those involved.

President Burke departs, instructing Adrian (unnamed) to release Dr. Lamm and terminate the surveillance on Martin, convinced that her administration’s legacy of domestic security will insulate her from criticism once the memoir is revealed. However, Adrian objects, foreseeing catastrophe should he fail to neutralize the two individuals now aware of the truth. The president overrules him, and Dr. Lamm is released mere streets away from the Springfield Register. As she enters the lobby, a poignant reunion with Martin and her father awaits, but fate has other plans. A devastating bomb blast destroys the very fabric of their gathering place, leaving in its wake 23 confirmed fatalities, including Dr. Lamm, her father, and Martin. Adrian’s rogue handiwork is revealed, as the authorities hastily attribute the atrocity to Martin’s supposed involvement.

As the FBI sifts through the charred remains of their apartment, a glimmer of hope emerges: an email from Martin, dispatched earlier, revealing his cunning plan to outsmart his pursuers by purchasing a burner phone, scanning the memoir, and then dispatching it anonymously to Jordan, a plea for him to disseminate the truth to the world.