AMB Reviews

State of Play: 9/10 Stars

Release Date: April 17, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG-13 for some violence, language including sexual references and brief drug content. Several men are shot, with only quick shots of blood. A car crashes into another, while another man gets his hand shot. One and a half f-words. A scattering of other milder words. References to infidelity, drug scandals, and sex. A man briefly beats another man up.

Review:

Wow... I haven't written a review for ages, it seems. If I had to pick movie for a comeback review, this would have to be one of the top runners...

In Short:

"State of Play" tells the deep story of two journalists, Cal McAffrey and Della Frye, who dig into the story of a murdered woman found to be having an affair with Congressman, Stephen Collins. However, the farther they go, the more confusing and complicated the story becomes. The acting was dead-on, for all of the main stars, and the plot led you down a twisting path that keeps you entirely entranced. The visuals were infrequent, but quite splendid when they did show up, and the whole film gave us a realistic view of what a newspaper office really is like nowadays. Highly recommended.

In Full:

"State of Play" documents the complex story of two reporters, Cal McAffrey and Della Frye, who dive headfirst into the murder of a homeless man, a pizza man, and a woman supposedly having an affair with Congressman (and Cal's friend) Stephen Collins. Somehow, they are all connected. However, the the deeper they go, the more complicated and intricate the story becomes, possibly leading to a full blown corporate conspiracy. The movie has quite a few twists and turns held close that it lets loose right as you think it's running dry. The dialogue is brisk and fast paced, forcing you to pay close attention. Its plot starts out simple but travels down a winding and confusing path shortly afterwards. The tension builds in pretty much every scene, leading to a shocking and ultimately satisfying (if not open-ended) conclusion.

The acting is where this film also shines. Every way you look at it, it's teriffic. Russell Crowe was the perfect fit for Cal, as he is both caring and yet at the same time, determined. He won't let anything get in his way of solving the case. Ben Affleck plays Congressman Stephen Collins, and though his performance felt a bit more contrived, he still manages to pull it off. He retains a pretty good balance of his emotions. My favorite performance in the film would have to go to Rachel McAdams. Her character, Della, is meant to be feisty, determined as well, and quite stubborn. In the end, she plays it perfectly, with just the right amount of sass and sweetness. And then there's Helen Mirren, he also turns in an astounding, if brief performance as Cal's editor.

This film leaves much to your imagination. It spends most of its time in courtrooms or newspaper offices, as various people discuss through the case. That being said, there are several intense scenes, including a great scene of cat-and-mouse between Cal and the killer. When there are visuals, they succeed wonderfully. Just don't expect loads of action violence. This is more of a talky thriller, which suited me fine, but may not suit others as well.

Probably one of the only cons I could comment on would be its lengthy running time. Though every scene in the movie was pretty much needed to reach its conclusion, I still felt like it was a bit overlong. It clocks in at about 2 hours, 8 minutes. It's not a terribly long running time, but for this type of film, I would've stopped it at about 1 hour, 45 minutes. Of course, with so much going on screen, I doubt it'll matter too much. Like I said, the dialogue is fresh and speedy... you'll probably be paying too close attention to make sure you don't miss anything, rather then keeping an eye on the clock.

"State of Play" is an old-fashioned thriller. It's not gory, sexualized or filled with unrealistic material. It's pure, down to earth suspense and talk... painting a realistic portrait of what it's like working for a newspaper company in a day and age where online blogging is the new rage. From the eerie beginning, to the fascinating end credits that take us step by step through the process of making a newspaper... "State of Play" is a firecracker of a movie. The actors are dynamite, and the complex plot explodes it all into one gem of a thriller that I'm adding to my DVD collection.