State of Play
Directed by Kevin MacDonald
Working Title Films, 2009
By Brian Last
College roomies? Was Crowe the class Rodney Dangerfield?
Every so often a well-intentioned political thriller comes out that falls flat. This is not the case with State of Play. From beginning to end, you are drawn in and taken on a ride with a lot of twists and turns. State of Play rises above the sea of political thrillers with a very well-written script, a great cast, and a director who knows how to tell a story.
Russel Crowe stars as Cal McAffrey, a veteran newspaper reporter for the Washington Globe . Ben Affleck plays Senator Stephen Collins; the two are old roommates and friends with a complicated history. The events that unfold do not exactly do wonders for their relationship. Two deaths occur: one, a petty street thief and the other, Collins’ lead researcher. The deaths seem unrelated, but McAffrey pulls out all the stops to solve the mystery with the help of the police and eager, young writer Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), who gets first-hand experience in guerrilla journalism. The further down the rabbit hole that McAffrey digs, the more layers that are unveiled. The closer he gets to the truth, the closer he comes to losing everything. Ultimately, he has to decide what is more important — his life, and his friendship with Senator Collins, or his career and reporting the truth.
Director Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland) does a great job of bringing us right into the story. Right away we are introduced to the characters and get to know who they are and what their story is. Affleck, Crowe, McAdams and Helen Mirren all bring their A game to this film. There’s not one weak link in the chain. In the supporting cast, Jason Bateman is astounding, while Jeff Daniels and Robin Wright Penn add to the solid backbone of the film. My only major problem with State of Play is that it was a little long — but there isn’t much that is filler or unimportant to the plot.
We’ve all seen political thrillers, but this one really touches upon current issues. What makes this film a little unnerving is how close it comes to matters that are happening right now in the United States’ government. The privatization of the military is one of those pressing issues, and it stands out in this film. Ensuring the safety and freedom of the American people has become the pretext for employing a mercenary army; corporate takeover and homeland security are two big thorns in democracy’s side. These are the foundations of the new world order and martial law, and they are happening faster than we can react. This film is the first in a while to come out and say in plain English that the U.S. isn’t on the level, and that it’s past time to question the way things are run. We’ve certainly been given reason enough to after the Bush administration. State of Play offers a smart, intense, and fresh take on an old subject. I highly recommend this film to anyone.
I believe the author meant “martial law”.
It says, “martial law” in the post. It always has. We’ve always been at war with Eurasia.
Mistakes happen, yeah? It is alright to edit your posts, that is one of the nice things about the internet. If a columnist for the Globe and Mail made a mistake, they would have to print a correction.