Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Movie Review:  State of Play

By pam suino

pbsuino@vwc.edu

Based on a British miniseries,  State of Play is a suspenseful thriller that keeps you guessing to the end. Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffrey, a rather scruffy-looking investigative reporter for the Washington Globe. His many years on the beat and his tenacity in searching out every aspect of a story have made him a well-known news figure in the city. Everyone, from cops to politicians, knows him.

Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), has been friends with Cal for years; they were roommates during in college.

Collins is the point man in a Congressional investigation of Point Corp, a private contract security company. He s scrutinizing their actions and bringing significant heat down on their operations. Point Corp, is not happy with Collins. So maybe they want to set him up for a scandal?

A man is shot, the bicyclist who witnessed the shooting is run down, and a young woman is killed on subway tracks. Cal is there to cover each story. The police and Cal question the manner of the woman s death: did she jump or was she pushed?

As Cal does some probing, he finds that the young woman, named Sonia, was a research assistant to Collins and the two were having an affair.

A young woman tells Cal she has photos she stole from the briefcase of the man who was shot. She needs to get out of the city fast, so she sells the photos to Cal for $500.

Cal rushes back to the Globe with his evidence. That night the young lady is found murdered. Then the cyclist, who witnessed the shooting and is under protective guard in the hospital, is shot and killed from a neighboring building.

Interestingly, a man who was seen leaving the hospital shortly before the cyclist is in the photos from the briefcase.

When it s divulged that Sonia was pregnant with Collins child, suspicious eyes turn to the Congressman.

Cal begins looking for the mysterious man in the photos. He discovers his name is Dominic and follows the scent. The trail leads him to a deceased man s apartment, where Dominic has taken up residence. Not pleased that this nosey reporter has found him, Dominic attempts to put Cal out of the picture. Cal escapes, but just barely.

Dominic is a man with loyalties, but where his loyalties lie is twist in the story.

Things definitely are not as they seem in  State of Play. Just about the time you think you have it all figured out, there s another jog in the road.

 State of Play is a good movie and keeps you guessing. It s a different role for Crowe. He rises to the occasion and gives an excellent performance.

Affleck does a decent job as the Collins, though he s not totally convincing in the part. He doesn t seem to have the determination of a congressman fighting a large corporation. If Point Corp were as evil as we re led to believe, anyone attempting to take them down would have to be an individual of the strongest caliber.

 State of Play is directed by Kevin McDonald, who intertwines the various twists and turns in the story. It never feels disjointed.