Film: State of Play
Cast includes: Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind), Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears), Rachel McAdams (The Family Stone), Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect), Robin Wright Penn (Empire Falls)
Genre: Suspense thriller
In brief: A wonderful chase scene sets the plot in motion. Two shootings… one dead, one in the hospital. It looks (kind of) like a drug related shooting. Washington Globe reporter, Cal, is hot on the story. In the meantime, Sonya Baker, Congressman Collins’s research assistant, is tragically killed in the metro by an oncoming train. Collins is obviously broken up about it, which leads to only one conclusion… “Fifty bucks says he’s balling her.” The timing couldn’t be worse for Congressman Collins because he’s in the middle of high-profile hearings. Not a good place to be with a sex scandal in progress. Della, cub reporter for the Globe’s blog, presses Cal for some info on Congressman Collins because Cal and Collins were college roommates. Even if Cal did know something, he’s not about to share with a blog reporter. All that changes when Cal finds a connection between the drug-addicted shooting victim and Sonya Baker.
So here’s the deal. By the end of the first act, we’re pretty sure we know where the breadcrumbs are leading us. But it doesn’t really matter because the story is so well told we’re totally on the ride. We stop trying to second guess the plot twists and just enjoy following the breadcrumbs. While the two reporters are working overtime to get the whole story… and get it right… Washington Globe management wants the story NOW. Never mind if it’s complete or correct. “We’ll make money when we break the story, and we’ll make money when we correct the story.” Before we know it, we’re so caught up in the Globe’s corporate drama that we hardly notice there are a few unexpected breadcrumbs along the way.
Based on a hugely popular British TV series by the same name, State of Play the movie condenses a six-hour drama into two hours. While those who loved the series may lament the loss of some plot elements, those of us who haven’t see the series will enjoy the movie for what it is… a coherent, tight and gripping story.
3 popped kernels
Popped kernels for interesting story, good acting and production. I give it one popped kernel for being a suspense thriller that actually hangs together... unlike so many lately.
