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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 968
Released: September 1, 2009 |
| Our Price: $9.95 |
| Used Price: $3.90 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Academy Award®-winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast, including Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams & Helen Mirren in the blistering thriller about deception, manipulation and corruption. When D.C. Reporter Cal McCaffrey (Crowe) is assigned to investigate the murder of an assistant to an up-and-coming politician (Affleck), he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to bring down the nation’s power structures. In a town of spin-doctors and wealthy power brokers, he will discover one truth: when fortunes are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is safe. From director Kevin Macdonald of The Last King of Scotland, State of Play brings together gripping performances, riveting suspense and is “sophisticated, intelligent and powerful” (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV).
Description of State of Play:
The superlative British miniseries becomes a smart, soap opera-free film courtesy of The Last King of Scotland's Kevin Macdonald. His writers, including Tony Gilroy (the Bourne series) and Billy Ray (Breach), haven't simply condensed and Americanized the six-hour series--they've reinvented it. Now set in Washington D.C., veteran journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe, replacing Brad Pitt, who dropped out over script changes) still collaborates with editor Cameron Lynne (a delectably imperious Helen Mirren) and junior reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) on a story involving Cal's politico pal, Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), but there's a new subtext behind their plunge into sex scandals and corporate malfeasance, since this State of Play also eulogizes old-school beat reporting, and in interviews, Macdonald has acknowledged the influence of newsprint classics like All the President's Men (the Watergate Hotel even shows up as a location). So, while Cal and Della, the Globe’s blogger, try to determine whether the congressman’s aide Sonia (with whom he was having an affair) died at her own hands or the hands of another, they're also fighting for their careers and the survival of their ailing paper. Stephen's political rival Senator Fergus (Jeff Daniels), does his best to stymie their efforts, but PR flack Dominic Foy (Jason Bateman) becomes a reluctant ally. Though fans of the series may miss a few characters, like Cameron's son (played by James McAvoy in the BBC version), Oscar-winning documentarian-turned-filmmaker Macdonald remains true to its spirit. Be sure to stay through the poignant end credits, during which he returns to his doc roots. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Stills from State of Play (Click for larger image)
State of Play Reviews:
State of Play 
2009-12-29 - A solid entertaining, mature thriller. As usual Crowe and Mirren are their absolute best. McAdams and a surprising Affleck are also good. Some good plot twists, an interesting story, exceptional acting, and witty dialogue make this a winner through and through.
Top-Notch Political Thriller 
2009-12-28 - State of Play is an enjoyable thrill ride with Russell Crow and Rachel McAdams. Crow plays a hippie-type reporter/journalist, Cal McCaffrey, and McAdams plays a cub reporter Della Frye. They both work at the Washington Globe along with Hellin Mirren who plays the tough-minded boss, who needs to get the paper's readership up.
It was released in 2009 with a plot that notes the 24 hour news cycle does not give time for true depth reporting. All the facts need to be in before conclusions are reached.
State of Play begins with a thief running through Washington DC and a pizza delivery man being killed by a a man with a handgun and silencer. The next day, a young, beautiful red-headed woman, Sonia Baker, is murdered in a Washington Subway. Stephen Collins, an ambitious congressman (Ben Affleck) is in a hearing on PointCorp, and when he announces that Sonia Baker, his lead researcher just died, he seems distraught. The scandal papers say he is having an affair with the victim. Later, Collins confirms this is true.
Cal finds evidence this is not true, and the plot thickens. Many more discoveries ensue, but when Cal finds that PointCorp, a defense contractor is set to win a $30-$40 billion contract he links key people to the plot. Somehow after many twists and turns there is a surprise ending. It is worth the wait. This movie is great for suspense buff's.
Big disappointment 
2009-12-26 - I am sorry to say that I was greatly disappointed with this movie. Going in, it seemed to have a lot of what I really enjoy in a movie -- political thriller-type intrigue, contemporary plot, and excellent cast. Even though I was disappointed after watching it, based upon my affinity for this genre I tried to convince myself that I liked it. But the truth is I have seen so many far superior political thrillers that this one bordered on boring. The plot was decent enough (with a few holes, as always), but I thought the filming technique, pace of the film, screenwriting and acting were definitely sub-par. I didn't really like anybody's acting in this except perhaps Jason Bateman's. Russell Crowe looked bad and was unconvincing, Ben Affleck was miserably unconvincing, Rachel McAdams was entirely miscast, Robin Wright Penn was her usual morose self, and even Helen Mirren's lines were delivered as if she felt uncomfortable saying them and knew she was in a mediocre film. All in all, the cast and script didn't get me interested--let alone excited--as to how it would turn out. The "twist" ending didn't leave me with a "wow, that was unexpected!" feeling; rather I found myself kind of yawning at the reveal. Compared to "The Sum of All Fears," based on Tom Clancy's thriller in which Ben Affleck does at least a respectable acting job as Jack Ryan (but not nearly as good as Harrison Ford's portrayal of the Ryan character in, say, "Patriot Games," etc.), this movie was yet another that made Ben Affleck look like he should have stuck to writing instead of acting. And what a disappointment from Russell Crowe, who I think is one of the finer actors of our day.
State of Play 
2009-12-16 - Good movie, a litle slow at times. Russell Crowe seems typecast, and Helen Mirren's great talent is wasted. Overall worth a view.
Good Acting - Interesting Plot
2009-12-16 - Russell Crowe gives a great performance in this drama set in Washington, DC. Helen Mirren also did a good job as the Editor of a major DC newspaper. The plot is a little hard to follow and the actors voices were quite low at times making it hard to understand their words. The movie gives a good look into the newspaper publishing business, and Russell Crowe spent a lot of time before making the movie visiting the Post and learning everything he could about the industry. Really good acting, but you must pay close attention - has some good twists.
