Russell Crowe sets the standards for political thriller affairs with State of Play and rightfully so, this movie is so compressed with a powerful cast that great performances is the only thing to expect. Although I’m not a fan of serial from where it was based on, I’m not a fan of political thrillers at all. The trailer left the impression that I’d be snoozing in my seat the whole time. But I’m not one to get daunted. State of Play did posses the requisite twist as any thriller would but it somehow suck you in by stoking your curiosity on who really did it and why. To strengthen my resolve to concentrate and enjoy the movie, I ventured to watch it alone. The film opens to the demise of Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), research assistant to fast-rising Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck). Stephen decided to turn to an old college buddy, Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe) who is also a well-known reporter. Cal starts to investigate and then decided to join forces with Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), a junior political reporter under Cal’s mentorship. Both have uncovered evidence pointing to PointCorp, a private security group, as one of the key suspects of Sonia’s murder. Somehow, Sonia was helping Stephen gather evidence in PointCorp’s underhanded activities. In the meantime, Cal’s editor Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren) of Washington Globe have been keeping the corporate bosses at bay while waiting for Cal’s scoop. Cameron had to continually struggle in making the bottom line amidst changes in the new media focused on making profits more than integrity in journalism. Somehow she echoes what is journalism’s current predicament. Somehow among the mix, Ben Affleck holds his own among the powerful ensemble in the movie. I’ve always thought of him as good actor but needs a really solid vehicle and more years in the industry to bring him up to par with the likes of Russell Crowe. But he can be utterly disappointing on how could he cheat on his wife, Anne (Robin Wright Penn) I guess, he was effective on his role. Between the production’s original choice, Edward Norton, and replacement, Ben Affleck, I would have picked Edward Norton as he would so fit the role. Russell Crowe just blows you away with how immersed he was in the character, from his old school air of confidence the obvious heavy paunch. All in all State of Play is a must-watch. It requires you to doggedly follow the twists or else you’ll miss out. Definitely not for the faint of brain.
  

Movie Statistics:
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Produced by Andrew Hauptman, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, Peter Morgan, Billy Ray, Paul Abbott (series)
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels
Music by Alex Heffes
Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto
Editing by Justine Wright
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Released on April 17, 2009 (US), April 22, 2009 (UK), May 28, 2009 (AUS) Duration: 127 min.
Country: United States, United Kingdom
Language: English
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closeAuthor: Aarti Bhardwaj
Name: Aarti Bhardwaj

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