Sunday, April 19, 2009

Movie Review - State of Play

Suspense thrillers aren't always my cup of tea, but with Russell Crowe as a rumpled, world weary journalist on the trail of a political scandal involving infidelity, shadow organizations and possible murder, what's not to like. Cal McAffrey (Crowe) has been assigned to cover the seemingly random shooting of a small time thief for his newspaper as the story opens, but soon there are much bigger fish to fry when the political aide to Cal's old college roommate Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) steps in front of a subway train. Or was she pushed? Collins, as one of the key members on a panel investigating a private corporation called Point Corp, becomes the center of attention when he breaks down publicly while announcing the death of his aide. Suddenly speculation shifts to the possibility of an affair between the dead aide Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer) and the Congressman. Complicating matters further is a past connection between Cal and Collins' wife Anne (Robin Wright Penn) along with Cal's difficult position as he covers a story that could mean the downfall of his friend. There's also an interesting, lively dynamic between Cal and an ambitious blogger on his paper named Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) who wants in on the Collins story.

It all sounds a bit like a soap opera, but with a cast this good and some fun twists and turns all the drama is more or less believable. Based on a British TV series and co-written by Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton"), this is a more sophisticated brand of political intrigue than your average thriller, although the storyline involving Point Corp and the Congressional investigation were a little confusing for me. Director Kevin McDonald keeps things zipping along and there's enough character development to make the plot a little more than just suspense.

Things to love about this movie: Great chemistry between Crowe and McAdams; doesn't overdo the car chases; a terrific opening scene that sets up the murder/suicide of the aide perfectly
Things to hate about this movie: Creepy, out of control organziations seem to always turn up in these thrillers (not too original); Cal's moral dilemma about investigating Collins would work better if more of a relationship was developed between him and Collins
Pleasant surprises: The supporting characters and actors are dynamite, including a charismatic, stand-out performance by Jason Bateman, Michael Berresse as one of the scariest assassins ever, Harry Lennix as the detective on the Collins case, Viola Davis as a doctor in the morgue and the always reliable Jeff Daniels as a creepy Representative
Unpleasant surprises: The marvelous Helen Mirren was a bit underused as Cal's tough as nails boss at the paper, as was Penn as the typical stand-by-your-man political wife

1 comment:

joan klengler said...

As usual, your synopsis of this film is spot on. Russell Crowe was a particular delight and as you indicated, Jason Bateman's performance was a treat.

An engaging film that held my interest to the end, which by the way, I never saw coming!