73 out of 73 people found the following review helpful:

Mixed Bag...

OttoParts from , 22nd April, 2009

'Touching The Void' and 'The Last King of Scotland' director Kevin McDonald tackles a conspiracy thriller set amidst the background of the decaying American newspaper industry. Russell Crowe shines in what is a seemingly custom made role as a less than perfect (apparently) old school newspaper journalist. There are some great supporting cast in this highly engaging and entertaining film. But there are too some very poor casting descisions. Helen Mirren in paticular, Jeff Daniels and 'the guy from the Orange mobile phone ads' are all way out of place here. The script from current hot property Matthew Carnahan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray is as slick as you like - fast and well excecuted. But you can't help wondering that the story is all a bit too ludicrous. It's ridden with coincidences that conveniently tie all the characters together all too neatly. Apparently the filmmakers wanted the film to be a disection of the imploding local newspaper industry in America and for it to serve as a relevant, modern day 'All The President's Men'. But sadly, none of these amitions come across and we don't get a sense of the newspaper environment within the actual movie. An Alan J. Pakula film this is not. If you're looking for a modern day disection of the downfall of the American newspaper, check out the last season of 'The Wire'...

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15 out of 15 people found the following review helpful:

Not Bad

GaryI from , 27th April, 2009

An engaging thriller, very well done and superbly well acted by all involved, including Ben Affleck - I was surprised there. I suppose British audiences who saw the BBC version this is based on will be disappointed that they know the ending, but this is still a confident and watchable political thriller. All the better if you didn't see the TV original.

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13 out of 14 people found the following review helpful:

Gripping political thriller, slightly marred by confusing ending

wreeve from , 26th April, 2009

From the opening scene - reminiscent of a Bond movie - it is clear that this is a well-told political drama. The story-telling is crisp, the performances are robust, and the production values are rich and deep. Russell Crowe excels as an overweight luddite old-school journalist, with clear (lack of?) professional standards. They don't make them like this any more, is the subtext, with constant derogatory references to the new media journalism of blogging. The new media journalism world is represented by Rachel McAdams, a pretty young intern brought in to write the newspaper's daily gossip column. She still has her ideals tho and they prove important as she finds herself immersed in the increasingly high stakes story that takes centre stage. The explosive story that the two journalists uncover revolves around an important congressman who, would you believe it, was Crowe's college room-mate, and whose assistant meets an untimely end. Bizarre love triangles (?) and defence industry conspiracies both feature prominently. Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn both do a decent job in support. Mirren is the newspaper's editor, a basically decent old-school type under pressure from the new owner (and those nasty new media competitors). Merryl Streep comes to mind, which doesn't do Mirren any favours. Penn bears no such comparison as the congressman's wife (and then some). The story is very well told, right up to the denouement. A great climax would have made this a 4.5/5 star film but in fact I felt the ending left a disappointing taste in my mouth and I was wondering about 3.5*. In the end tho I give it 4. It's certainly a good night's viewing and Russell Crowe proves again that he can carry a movie in a very wide range of roles.

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9 out of 10 people found the following review helpful:

*** May contain spoilers ***

State Of Play

Burtonbach from , 26th April, 2009

From director Kevin Mc Donald who directed the impressive The Last King of Scotland we have a political thriller that really packs a punch . Journalist Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe ) works for the Washington Globe, a maverick with years of experience he continually sails close to the wind as he chases every lead to get a newsworthy story. His college buddy turned congressman Stephen Collins ( Ben Affleck) is on a senate committee panel that has been investigating the possible nefarious wrong doings of a huge corporate marines-for-hire group. But when he breaks down in tears on camera during an initial hearing following the suspicious death of a pretty young researcher Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer) attached to his office he opens up a real can of worms. The story cracks wide open as we see Cal who wants to get to the bottom of things and write a good story in the process become torn between loyalty to his friend and Mrs Collins (Robin Wright-Penn ) and his duty to both his employer and his own conscience. Pushed on by ballsy editor Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren) who assigns rookie journalist Della Frye ( Rachel Mc Adams) to assist Cal, and his own journalistic insticts, he soon begins to realise that someone, somewhere is trying to cover up a scandal that will leave Capitol Hill reeling. It's an edgy, quality production ,though not without it's faults, the dialogue is a tad heavy, and the conclusion left a little to be desired, with acting heavyweights like Mirren not being given enough to do, and Mc Adams clearly miscast. That said on the positives Crowe dominates as the disgruntled journalist giving by far one of his better performances of recent years , with Affleck raising his game as a result. It's a complex thriller that needs some serious concentration , but it certainly has finesse and is smart and stylish in it's delivery. An entertaining piece that in the main doesn't disappoint, and I left the cinema feeling I'd spent my ticket money very wisely. In a word ....Intriguing

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watchable bit slow...

A Customer from cheshire, 13th March, 2010

watchabe film that killed a few hours...i wouldnt go out of my way to watch it again as the film was very slow paced in parts....

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state of play

moviemanic from , 12th March, 2010

political thriller with russell crowe not his best film if you love watching paint dry then you will love this film great film for insomniacs it will send you to sleep i watched it 3 times and 3 times i fell asleep still dont know what its about so one word for me, crap, not worth watching

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Good conspiracy film

A Customer from london, 11th March, 2010

Excellent action movie with all the usual twists and turns. Only problem is it has all been done a lot before - but this very well made and thoroughly entertaining.

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Well paced, well done

CaiusAristotle from , 11th March, 2010

Good journalistic investigation thriller with a great intricate plot, that keeps one involved right to the closing credits. Russell Crowe is an old style investigative journalist convinced he has come across a sinister corporate conspiracy to do with defence procurement and Rachel McAdams, a newby journalist engaged in writing the paper's gossipy blog, joins him in his uncovering quest. Helen Mirren plays the editor somewhat torn between being an old school journalist and the conflicting demands of pleasing the paper’s new owners and addressing the salacious pressures of the internet age. The story all comes together neatly, if slightly unrealistically - the real world is messier - but hey, this is the movies. The cinematography was very corporate for want of a better description and the corridors of power were nicely evoked but the hustle and bustle of the newspaper trade did not come across quite so well. The newspaper building appeared more like the admin centre of a mildly disorganised distribution company but this is a minor gripe. Russell Crowe is superb as the seasoned old reporter and somehow seems to raise the game of those cast with him, Of course Helen Mirren can hold her own with anyone but Rachel MacAdams and Ben Affleck played their roles with more aplomb than usual. Great film, engaging, compelling and well acted.

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