State of Play, based on a British mini-series, features Russell Crowe as Cal McAffrey, an investigative reporter for the Washington Globe. Cal is a schlubby guy who drives a battered Saab and types his copy on a computer that is probably only a few years older than the young staffers at the paper. He does his reporting the old-fashioned way; he pounds the pavement, knocks on doors and makes the phone calls.State of Play is a movie with many twists and turns. Just as when you think the mystery is solved, it goes off in a new direction. State of Play is smartly directed by Kevin McDonald (The Last King of Scotland) that never insults the audience’s intelligence. Both Crowe and Mirren prove why they are Oscar-winners with their pitch-perfect portrayals. McAdams is a promising young actress who should get more roles. Justin Bateman is a riot as a drug-addled publicist who gives our intrepid reporters some very important information. Only Ben Affleck isn’t quite on top of his game. He just doesn’t have the gravitas to play a major player in the Congress.
State of Play is a riveting thriller but it also plays tribute to the nearly lost art of journalism where bloggers are nipping at reporters’ heels and newspapers are often more beholden to advertisers and corporate America than the reading public. I highly recommend you stay for the closing credits where you get to see a newspaper being produced from a paper running off the presses to large trucks that deliver the paper throughout the city. It’s an eye-opening segment that is sadly disappearing.
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