Title: State of Play

Directed by: Kevin Macdonald (The Eagle of the Ninth, The Last King of Scotland)

Starring: Russell Crowe (Robin Hood, Body of Lies), Ben Affleck (The Company Men, Hollywoodland), Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes) and Jason Bateman (Extract).

Scores: Technical: 90, Story: 95, Acting: 100, Overall: 98

First off, let me say I usually despise political drama/thrillers. I think they are all basically the same. It is a very rare occasion that I can sit through one of these and not see the ending coming a mile away. State of Play breaks all of the rules of a standard drama and has an ending you cannot see coming.

The film starts with a really intense murder followed by another very intense murder…or is it a suicide? Hmmm? Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffry, a seasoned reporter for a struggling newspaper in D.C. who gets involved with trying to help his long time friend and congressman Stephen Collins, played flawlessly by Ben Affleck. I know, I know, Ben Affleck???? In my opinion, this was his most impressive role ever. I forgot I was watching the same guy who was in Gigli and Daredevil. This was the Ben from Hollywoodland and School Ties. Overall, all the acting was great but, his performance just stood out. Crowe pulls it off in great form once again. Most of the main roles were played by veteran actors; Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, and the amazing Jason Bateman and, apparently, Brad Pitt and Edward Norton were supposed to play the leads but for various reasons, thankfully, they did not. They would not have fit as well as Crowe and Affleck did.

The movie moved at a very fast and thrilling pace that keeps you on the edge of your seat almost the entire time. The plot was very original (I have not seen the series this was based on) and had a couple holes that you don’t think about until driving home. It did not pollute the movie at all. Now for the things that were not so great. The cinematography was good, but lacked substance. I never really knew where things were taking place. The camera work was too shaky at times. But that’s really the only flaws I could find. Like I said, I went into this thinking I would not like it but, it really blew me away. This fast paced thriller will keep you guessing until the very end, and just when you think you got it, Guess again!!

On a side note, Welcome back Ben.

By Dave Minyard