State of Play

(2009)

Directed by

Kevin Macdonald

Review by Terry Plucknett

When a film is loaded with three Oscar winners, two Oscar nominees, and several other A-list stars, it makes it hard for a movie to be bad.  State of Play proves this premise to be true.

The story centers around Cal McAffrey (Oscar-winner Russell Crowe), an old-school reporter for the Washington Globe, and his college roommate, Stephen Collins (Oscar-winner Ben Affleck), who is now a congressman.  The balance in their relationship as friends but also as reporter and congressman begins to be blurred after it is released that Congressman Collins was having an affair with an aid that was killed.  As McAffrey and his young co-worker Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) begin to cover the incident as reporters for their newspaper, McAffrey is constantly letting his bias show through for his good friend in trying to spin the story in a positive way for him.  As they continue to investigate, they find that they are investigating a grand conspiracy theory that is trying to put the nation’s entire National Defense system in the private sector.  As they continue to dig further into the story, McAffrey and Frye fight to find the truth in time to meet their deadline laid down by their editor (Oscar-winner Helen Mirren).

As the plotline of this movie unfolds, you discover it is very cliché.  The grizzly old veteran bringing the young up-and-comer along.  The hardnosed boss constantly in their faces about the work they are doing.  Fighting through the lies and deception to find the truth.  A character asked to compromise a friendship in order to discover that truth.  It’s all there, and we’ve all seen it before.  They try to make up for it with several great plot twists which due add some life, but that’s been done before too.  The only thing that makes the plotline different from other movies like this is the fact that they aren’t cops.  They’re just reporters that think they’re cops.  They seem to be much smarter than the cops in every way actually.  The find the key players first, they set up interrogations threatening to deface them in their article unless they cooperate.  Whenever you see the cops, they are asking the reporters to fill them in on what they’ve discovered about their case.  It’s as if they letting the reporters do their job for them.  This is the one thing I had a problem with throughout the movie.

One thing I have to say about clichés before I bash them too much.  There is a reason why these are clichés.  It is because they work.  The reason why these storylines keep getting recycled over and over again is because they are interesting as a general plot for a movie to follow.  However, if the film did not bring anything else to the table, it would not have been anywhere near as interesting.  It’s the performances that make this time through this storyline work.  Russell Crowe is amazing in one of his first roles over the last ten years that hasn’t been begging for an Oscar nomination.  He shows he really does have incredible range.  Ben Affleck is also brilliant as he seems to have found where he belongs in the acting world; playing sophisticated yet tormented public figures.  This and his role as George Reeves in Hollywoodland show this to be true.  McAdams and Mirren give strong performances as well.  Jason Bateman does a decent job in a role that does not seem to fit him, a millionaire playboy, but he pulls it off.  Jeff Daniels, Oscar-nominee Viola Davis (in a 2 minute role), and others round out a stellar cast that displays through this film why they have gotten the recognition and accolades they have received throughout their careers: they’re just that good.

This film is not the best film this year.  It probably will not be anywhere close.  However, it is a fun movie with good performances that will keep you interested and guessing throughout.

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