State of Play (2009)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Kevin Macdonald

Writers (WGA):

Matthew Michael Carnahan (screenplay) and
Tony Gilroy (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 April 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Find The Truth

Plot:

A team of investigative reporters work alongside a police detective to try to solve the murder of a congressman's mistress.

Plot Keywords:

Congressman | Assassin | Truth | Murder | Mistress

Cast

Russell Crowe	...	Cal McAffrey
Ben Affleck	...	Rep. Stephen Collins
Rachel McAdams	...	Della Frye
Helen Mirren	...	Cameron Lynne
Robin Wright Penn	...	Anne Collins
Jason Bateman	...	Dominic Foy
Jeff Daniels	...	Rep. George Fergus
Michael Berresse	...	Robert Bingham
Harry Lennix	...	Det. Donald Bell
Josh Mostel	...	Pete
Michael Weston	...	Hank
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Gene Stavitz
Viola Davis	...	Dr. Judith Franklin
David Harbour	...	PointCorp Insider
Sarah Lord	...	Mandi Brokaw

Also Known As:

Jeux de pouvoir (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, language including sexual references, and brief drug content.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA | UK | France

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45139) | Australia:M | UK:12A | South Korea:12 | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-13 | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | South Africa:13LS (13LV) | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:12 | Mexico:B | France:U | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Americana Hotel - 1400 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Company:

Andell Entertainment

Trivia:

Numerous directors were offered this film. Amongst them were Brian De Palma, Martin Campbell, Richard Linklater, Ang Lee, and Jim Jarmusch.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the DC Police detectives descended en masse on the newspaper's offices, they had FBI badges on chains around their necks. DC detectives wear DC police badges.

Quotes:

Rep. Stephen Collins: You're just seeking the truth. You're a truth seeker. You can't help it, that is just who you are. You're such a hypocrite. You're not interested in me. You come in here, it's all about you and you getting your story. I trusted you. You're my friend! You were supposed to be my friend anyway.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "This Morning: (2009-04-21)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Long As I Can See The Light

If you like thrillers...

Crowe brings his A game (despite an occasional accent slip) to his role as a world-weary reporter with the newly purchased Washington Globe, helmed by Helen Mirren's very engaging take on Perry White/Katharine Graham. If you like thrillers you won't be disappointed in this pic that runs 2 hours and feels less than half of that. "State of Play" isn't perfect and the number of plot points that need to come together veritably dictate some implausibility at the end but if you compare this film to any five suspense-thrillers (at least Hollywood-made) that have come out in the past five years, you have to appreciate the whole package: Acting (and I disagree with the Ben Affleck naysayers here, he acquitted himself very well), character acting (Viola Thomas, Jason Batemen and Harry Lennix compete equally with a fraction of the time of the major players), interesting and gripping plot and story development, and overall believability all make this a first-rate film and one all involved should be proud of. The subtext of love and loss surrounding the non- entertainment print media also lends more than a little credibility and sympathy to the effort. I hope this film succeeds on a financial level and inspires at least one or two ambitious filmmakers to make movies in the same vein. Without doubt, there are too few genre pics of this caliber and State of Play shows it can be done well, even into the 21st century.