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State of Play (2009)

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Time Out rating

Average user rating

17 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Paul Abbott’s widely admired London-set BBC political thriller series may have taken a mere six years to receive a Hollywood makeover, but it seems to have aged at least 30 in the process.
For a start, its star Russell Crowe’s interpretation of Cal McAffrey would look at home among the insouciant, long-haired mavericks of the 1970s. He’s the scruffy Washington Globe reporter whose relationship with school chum and ambitious congressman Ben Affleck becomes complicated as the latter becomes implicated in two hitherto unconnected murders.

Likewise, its director, the Brit Kevin Macdonald (‘The Last King of Scotland’), is more occupied with self-consciously reviving the paranoid newsdesk atmosphere of a number of ’70s conspiracy movies than with developing the script’s intriguing play on present-day credit-crunch anxieties and online/old-school hack rivalries.

That said, and despite the clichéd nature of much of the dialogue and the derivative thriller set-ups, ‘State of Play’ provides sufficient old-fashioned entertainment value to justify the ticket. It plays well as a newspaper movie, with some nice banter – including some enjoyably sharp jibes at the blogosphere – between the hardened professional ethics of McAffrey and the politically correct protestations of his ingénue hack partner Della Frye (a perky Rachel McAdams). Helen Mirren provides a ripe turn as a profane version of Tina Brown, and the ever radiant Robin Wright Penn makes a seductive McGuffin (or is she?). Macdonald’s handling of the material is confident,
if never inspired, and the film is ably shot by the talented Mexican DoP Rodrigo Prieto in widescreen.

Author: Wally Hammond

Time Out London Issue 2018, April 23-29, 2009

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User reviews of this film

Breezy said...

Posted on Oct 29 2011 18:01 Hollywoodised crap, and racist. Why was the Colin Stag character in the original changed to Deshaun Stag, who is now a drug addict, who fails to warn the target of a hitman (which he did in the original). And I can go on all the differences in the movie only serve to dumb down, the original.

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Tom B said...

Posted on Feb 23 2010 23:48 This film starts well, promises much, but labours in the middle looses its way and limps to a predictable if not rushed end. Ben affleck is 20 years younger than his childhood sweetheart wife, russel Crowe does a chubby investigative journalist well, but come the end you feel nothing for any of the characters I can almost imagine Russel turning round at the end and saying in a broud Australian accent " IS THAT IT", unrewarding, forgettable. shame

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blib said...

Posted on Dec 21 2009 07:39 What a complete let down. A mess of a film. Russel Crowe fairs slightly better than his co stars but only because he has a bit more to work with. Helen Mirren slips into "Prime Suspect" mode. Rachel McAdams is ...well Rachel McAdams. Film teeters along to it's all too obvious conclusion. Not an "absence of malice" or "Presidents" by a long chalk.

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NikWatt said...

Posted on May 23 2009 00:55 I was REALLY looking forward to this. Have I saved my money or have I missed something I'd enjoyed anyway..

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Nik 283 said...

Posted on May 23 2009 00:53 I was SO looking forward to seeing this movie: thanks for saving me the money!!

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holly gabriel(pooch) said...

Posted on May 16 2009 11:10 I found the film to be utterly deflating. Having seen the brilliant tv series i was thoroughly looking forward to the film. The biggest disappointment for me was Mirrens depiction of the character wonderfully portrayed by the ever excellent Bill Nighy.

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critique said...

Posted on May 07 2009 11:05 Talky, stagey tedium, enlivened only by a couple of suspenseful action pieces.

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ZN said...

Posted on May 06 2009 14:27 I thought this was really really really good!

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Raymond Anderson said...

Posted on May 05 2009 16:22 I worked for 41 years in newspaper offices and this film struck me as authentic. I particularly liked Mirren's description of the young blogger as being cheap and producing loads of copy. How manytimes have I heard that? This is a quality film with Crowe in cracking form and the director moving things along at pace. Thoroughly enjoyable.

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Harry said...

Posted on Apr 28 2009 19:59 I liked this film alot. but im no critic

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mary said...

Posted on Apr 28 2009 10:00 Worth going to see. Crowe excellent in the role. Mirren suits it too. Keeps attention throughout

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oldbrit said...

Posted on Apr 26 2009 21:02 I enjoyed the TV version of the story and wondered how it would translate to a US settling and into a shortened version. I also wondered whether I would be gripped as I already knew who the bad guys were. I need not have worried. It was a geat story and this movie more than does it justice.

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Madison said...

Posted on Apr 26 2009 18:33 Crowe totally inhabits his character as you'd expect, but the newsroom scenes feel a bit cliched (the Wire did it better). 6 stars for Russell's acting ******

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ARCHGATE said...

Posted on Apr 24 2009 20:43 Crowe is very good in this film. Unfortunately the other main leads - Mirren and McAdams are totally miscast. The man from the "Orange Wednesdays" is more convincing than these two. The film rocks at certain points and sometimes it rolls. But it never rock and rolls at the same time. Shame really, cos I quite liked it.

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Girish said...

Posted on Apr 24 2009 15:43 Russel has acted brilliantly. Plain and good narration.

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