State of Play

There's nothing mind blowing about State of Play, save for the fact that it is a tightly plotted, well-acted, all-around solid thriller. I kept going back into my head during the movie to compare and contrast with All the President's Men. Both seem geared toward that Watch Dog journalism heroism that made Woodward and Bernstein icons both of their profession and popular culture. Russell Crowe is not nearly as noble a man as either of the Washington Post reporters. That's because while the conspiracy in questions is on a grand scale it is on more personal level for our hero. His old pal Ben Affleck as U.S. congressman is caught up in a scandal that may or may not be of his own doing. The other theories point toward a soldier-for-hire corporation under the congressman's scrutiny. The situation allows the filmmakers to comment on the current state of the flailing newspaper medium, corporate politics, corporate espionage, and other hot-button topics. But again, it's the personal interests of Crowe's potbellied reporter that make for an above average thriller. Ben Affleck, that much maligned actor, has long been a guilty pleasure of mine, though I'll stand proud next to him now that he's taking his career seriously again. He CAN act, and when he chooses the right projects (State of Play, Changing Lanes, Dogma, Good Will Hunting, Chasing Amy) to allow him to flex those acting muscles, I'll be there to watch. There's no performance here that's going to get any award season attention, but it's a great cast doing solid work on a good project that deserves attention from adult audiences. Three screenwriters worked on the script at different stages, all of whom are writers of note. Tony Gilroy of the Bourne franchise, Duplicity, and Michael Clayton fame took over after the director wanted to separate this version from the BBC version. Billy Ray of Flightplan, Breach, and Shattered Glass fame made unknown contributions. But it's ole Matthew Michael Carnahan of Lions for Lambs and The Kingdom fame who brings his liberal politics to the project. I'm not against what State of Play has to say about politics, but it's not surprising that a conservative republican senator is a shady bastard in a Carnahan script. The script's twists are surprising, but if you really want to surprise me, present the issue objectively.

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