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Review -- State of Play
State of Play (2009)
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck
Canadian Rating: PG
3 stars out of 4 (Good)
State of Play hits DVD retail/rental shelves tomorrow.
By Albert Tam
There are movies that become thrillers unexpectedly, there are thrillers that don’t hide what they are, and there are thrillers that aren’t really thrillers but try to be anyway. Luckily, State of Play is the second one that’s rather efficient at its task but packs a few surprises along the way.
Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) is a reporter for The Washington Globe who covers a routine murder in a secluded spot in Washington D.C. He thinks of it as another drug related homicide but when his college roommate who is now a Congressman (Ben Affleck) is pinned on causing the suicide of his mistress, he unexpectedly discovers a link between these two cases and starts to uncover a corporate conspiracy that might shatter the nation to its very core. Accompanying him on his investigative journey is rookie reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) and his Editor-in-chief Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren).
State of Play is based off of a BBC miniseries of the same name and while I’ve never seen it, the movie certainly feels like it’s from something much larger. This is because the film felt less focused on the characters and more on the story: the dialogue is filled with rumination on plot elements and there isn’t a break in the 127 film. In fact, each scene is so jam-packed with information, I think it’s impossible for anyone to get up and go to the bathroom while it plays so much as look briefly at their watch – this movie requires your brain and your undivided attention the whole way through.
Fortunately, I just happened to be watching this film at a comfortable hour in the evening and I was prepared mentally for what was to be a whirlwind of a film. Director Kevin Macdonald opens this movie fantastically, settles it down, and then once you think it’s gone to a talking picture, he surprises us again with small chase sequences, murder, and mayhem between his characters; this is solid direction from a filmmaker who’s only 42, has an Oscar, and has this film as only his third non-documentary feature.
I particularly enjoyed leading man Russell Crowe as well, who gives his best performance since A Beautiful Mind mainly because he’s playing against type – he isn’t a tough guy nor is he an on-edge paranoid like he typically is. Rather, he’s a consummate professional who will do what it takes to get a story out there; think Al Pacino’s character from The Insider, but not as angry or respected.
The pretty girl of the movie, Rachel McAdams, who I admit I have a crush on, is steady here too and this woman actually looks like a reporter, not some dolled up actress playing one. If there’s one thing I admire about her acting, it’s that her serious characters always seem to have brains naturally and it isn’t a forced trait where she has to work to gain our trust.
I like this movie. It’s not going to blow your mind or make a top-10 list anytime soon, but it’s efficiently surprising and well-acted. The rest of the cast is in top form and I don’t think it’s possible to go wrong with Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels, Viola Davis, and Jason Bateman co-starring. All of these actors know who they are in this picture and they’re not trying to steal the show, but work together as an ensemble to create a genuine and believable feel to this picture. And it does feel that way, which makes the unexpected twists and turns all the more exhilarating.
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck
Canadian Rating: PG
3 stars out of 4 (Good)
State of Play hits DVD retail/rental shelves tomorrow.
By Albert Tam
There are movies that become thrillers unexpectedly, there are thrillers that don’t hide what they are, and there are thrillers that aren’t really thrillers but try to be anyway. Luckily, State of Play is the second one that’s rather efficient at its task but packs a few surprises along the way.
Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) is a reporter for The Washington Globe who covers a routine murder in a secluded spot in Washington D.C. He thinks of it as another drug related homicide but when his college roommate who is now a Congressman (Ben Affleck) is pinned on causing the suicide of his mistress, he unexpectedly discovers a link between these two cases and starts to uncover a corporate conspiracy that might shatter the nation to its very core. Accompanying him on his investigative journey is rookie reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) and his Editor-in-chief Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren).
State of Play is based off of a BBC miniseries of the same name and while I’ve never seen it, the movie certainly feels like it’s from something much larger. This is because the film felt less focused on the characters and more on the story: the dialogue is filled with rumination on plot elements and there isn’t a break in the 127 film. In fact, each scene is so jam-packed with information, I think it’s impossible for anyone to get up and go to the bathroom while it plays so much as look briefly at their watch – this movie requires your brain and your undivided attention the whole way through.
Fortunately, I just happened to be watching this film at a comfortable hour in the evening and I was prepared mentally for what was to be a whirlwind of a film. Director Kevin Macdonald opens this movie fantastically, settles it down, and then once you think it’s gone to a talking picture, he surprises us again with small chase sequences, murder, and mayhem between his characters; this is solid direction from a filmmaker who’s only 42, has an Oscar, and has this film as only his third non-documentary feature.
I particularly enjoyed leading man Russell Crowe as well, who gives his best performance since A Beautiful Mind mainly because he’s playing against type – he isn’t a tough guy nor is he an on-edge paranoid like he typically is. Rather, he’s a consummate professional who will do what it takes to get a story out there; think Al Pacino’s character from The Insider, but not as angry or respected.
The pretty girl of the movie, Rachel McAdams, who I admit I have a crush on, is steady here too and this woman actually looks like a reporter, not some dolled up actress playing one. If there’s one thing I admire about her acting, it’s that her serious characters always seem to have brains naturally and it isn’t a forced trait where she has to work to gain our trust.
I like this movie. It’s not going to blow your mind or make a top-10 list anytime soon, but it’s efficiently surprising and well-acted. The rest of the cast is in top form and I don’t think it’s possible to go wrong with Helen Mirren, Ben Affleck, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels, Viola Davis, and Jason Bateman co-starring. All of these actors know who they are in this picture and they’re not trying to steal the show, but work together as an ensemble to create a genuine and believable feel to this picture. And it does feel that way, which makes the unexpected twists and turns all the more exhilarating.
Helen Mirren, on the other hand, played her part brilliantly.
I think this is where your 4 star system goes downhill. 2.5 stars would mean 'below average' and that would be unfair, but nevertheless I don't think it's right to call this 'above average' either. It's distinctly middle of the road.
While the film takes a similar route to the original tv series, instead of focussing on oil companies (a very obvious target, but that was actually the point) it picks a more up to date issue to combat. That in turns leads the filmmakers to shy away from the devastating ending of the tv series. (The weird thing is that they still had the devastating ending, but didn't seem to follow it to its proper conclusion.)
*THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE NOW! AVOID IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!*
Didn't the newspapers at the end show the Blackwater group getting their comeuppance? But surely we already noticed that the news story didn't actually come up with anything against Blackwater at all? The murderer was employed by the politician, not Blackwater at all. The full horror of the ending ought to be not simply that the politician had ordered someone killed, but that Blackwater who were seemingly so closely tied to everything were actually going to get away with it after all because, despite all the signs, this murder wasn't actually their fault. As a result the attempts by Crowe's character to clear his friend's name were for nothing, because in the end, he's the guy who's making the headline. However, that seems to be too devastating for the filmmakers to accept, so in the end credits we are told that Blackwater officials are losing their jobs anyway.
*END OF SPOILER. DO NOT READ THE SECTION ABOVE IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE.**
My initial reaction to the movie was that it was absurd, especially when I discovered that Russell Crowe was starring rather than Brad Pitt. (I actually can't stand Russell Crowe and this movie did little to change my opinion on this.) At the time I wrote this - there are no spoilers whatsoever in the following link for the tv series or the movie - post in my journal. It's pretty unfair to the movie (seeing as all I'd seen was the trailer), but it explains why the tv series is well worth your attention. The television mini-series is one of the best pieces of television I have ever seen:
http://fatpie42.livejournal.com/12721.h
My system breaks down like this:
4 stars Excellent
3.5 stars Very Good
3 stars Good
2.5 stars Respectable
2 stars Mediocre
1.5 stars Lacking
1 star Bad
0.5 stars Very Bad
0 stars Terrible
I typically don't recommend skipping anything 3 stars and up, and I did like this film quite a bit. If I contrasted it with the mini-series, my opinion might differ, but it has enough surprises going for it to elevate its pedestrian pace