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)
Los secretos del poder (Argentina) (Venezuela) [es]
Большая игра (Russia) [ru]
A dolgok állása (Hungary) [hu]
Asjade seis (Estonia) [et]
Devlet oyunlari (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
I katastasi ton pragmaton (Greece) [el]
Intrigas do Estado (Brazil) [pt]
Jeux de pouvoir (Canada: French title) [fr]
La sombra del poder (Spain) [es]
Ligações Perigosas (Portugal) [pt]
Na odstrel (Czech Republic) [cs]
Stan gry (Poland) [pl]
State of Play - Stand der Dinge (Germany) [de]
U vrtlogu igre (Croatia) (wide-release title) [hr]

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

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 Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Andell Entertainment

Trivia:

Director Kevin Macdonald considered asking Bill Nighy to reprise his role of Cameron but decided to make the character a female instead. Helen Mirren was then cast.

Goofs:

Continuity: Before Della runs after Cal in one of the office scenes near the end, she is wearing the pen necklace he gave her. It was shown that she just got up and ran after him, but the next time we see her she is not wearing the pen necklace.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Cal McAffrey: Good night everybody. See you tomorrow...

Movie Connections:

References "Entertainment Tonight" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Long As I Can See The Light

The Ideal Thriller

So I gave this movie a 10, but that's coming from a thriller fan. With most thrillers, this movie has it's faults. Some exaggeration, implausibilities, annoying twists, but the film transcends other thrillers on all other levels. Even with the overly dramatic plot and scenarios, I felt this film was a very realistic portrayal of journalism and posed an interesting argument between old fashioned print journalism and the new age of the internet. Of course, for the "thrills" they'll have to make some cliché twists, but it goes beyond the generic nonsense thriller to making a mild statement about the media today. In addition, the cast was fantastic. I couldn't be more relieved that Russell Crowe took over Brad Pitt's role, Pitt would have been a terrible choice. Russell was a much better fit for Cal. However, I kind of wish Edward Norton remained with the role of Senator Collins... Affleck and Crowe didn't have the greatest chemistry. However the many supporting players were fantastic. Rachel McAdams did a fine job. Not exactly the meatiest role but she played the revised role of Della as a young popular blogger greatly. Rachel brought that playful naivety but at the same time made Della intelligent and respectable. Helen Mirren was perfect, and perhaps a little underused. There is also a plethora of strong performances from the minor supporting players. Jason Bateman gave my favorite performance out of all of them, Harry Lennix was another who was underutilized, and Robin Wright Penn continues her reputation as one of the most consistent supporting actresses.

But as a thriller, it really was a fantastic and entertaining movie. I've never seen the BBC series and could only imagine how much better it could be with more time to develop characters and stories, but the film does the best it could and that's enough. It isn't your typical mindless thriller though, which is what I respect about it most. It is paced well but if you don't pay attention you may get lost, but seeing as the film really does keep you on your toes, it shouldn't be that hard. What makes this thriller so much better though is that it makes you think, even after leaving the theater. It isn't just some formulaic story with mindless twists and turns, it's actually saying something about the world today that is very relevant, which not only makes a great thriller, but a great film as well.

I've read some complaints about the ending, but I don't understand what the big deal was. I don't want to give anything away, but I think it's an ending that could be taken in different ways depending on the viewer.