State of Play (2009)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 205
Fresh: 172 | Rotten: 33
A taut, well-acted political thriller, State of Play overcomes some unsubtle plot twists with an intelligent script and swift direction.
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Critic Reviews: 47
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 14
A taut, well-acted political thriller, State of Play overcomes some unsubtle plot twists with an intelligent script and swift direction.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 122,228
Movie Info
The Last King of Scotland director Kevin McDonald teams with screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan for this American adaptation of the hit British miniseries concerning the suspicious circumstances that set a rising congressman and a dogged reporter on a dangerous collision course. U.S. congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is handsome, unflappable, and ascending the ladder of power with unprecedented speed. He's the future of his political party, and as the chairman of a committee assigned
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Cast
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Russell Crowe
Cal McAffrey -
Ben Affleck
Congressman Stephen ... -
Rachel McAdams
Della Frye -
Helen Mirren
Cameron Lynne -
Robin Wright
Anne Collins -
Jason Bateman
Dominic Foy -
Jeff Daniels
Senator George Fergu... -
Michael Berresse
Michael Bingham -
Harry J. Lennix
Detective Donald Bel... -
Josh Mostel
Pete -
Michael Weston
Hank -
Barry Shabaka Henley
Gene Stavitz -
Viola Davis
Dr. Judith Franklin -
David Harbour
PointCorp Insider -
Sarah Lord
Mandi -
Tuck Milligan
PointCorp Executive -
Stephen Park
Chris Kawai -
Brennan Brown
Andrew Pell -
Maria Thayer
Sonia Baker -
Wendy Makkena
Greer Thornton -
Zoe Lister Jones
Jessy -
Michael Jace
Officer Brown -
Rob Benedict
Milt -
Ladell Preston
Deshaun Stagg
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State of Play Trailer & Photos
All Critics (205) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (172) | Rotten (33) | DVD (8)
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.
Top CriticThe three screenwriters may have been trying to work too many plot strands into two hours; in any case, State of Play is both overstuffed and inconclusive.
It's sentimental in all the right ways.
As a former reporter and a fervent believer that we need good, independent newspapers to do their jobs keeping government and business in check, I think they got the journalism right.
I want to see more films like this.
A meandering movie that sometimes hits dead center and sometimes misfires dismally, resulting in a drama more tangled than taut.
It's all very "ripped from the headlines" and the characters are more types than people, but at least it doesn't talk down to you. Much.
Journalistic ethics and the scandalous nature of politics are featured in the taut conspiracy thriller, State of Play.
At last, State Of Play is an example of a Hollywood refresh that not only stand up to the source, but builds upon it.
Smart, complex dramas constructed and performed with precision like this are too rare an offering to pass up.
Quite a stew of 'relevance'
Just couldn't get enthusiastic about the twists and turns in this story of an investigative reporter on the trail of political bad guys. It just made me long for "All the President's Men."
Kevin Macdonald's State of Play has, in fact, everything you need to tell a great journalist's story, except a great story.
Well played sirs. Well played
Boasting a cracking cast and a deliciously clever script, State of Play is a polished political thriller not to be missed.
Un thriller rutinario e intrascendente, que pretende hablar de temas importantes como la corrupción, la ética periodística y los abusos del corporativismo pero se queda en la superficie.
tate of Play is a smoothly written, almost instantly forgettable procedural featuring people we have trouble caring about.
It's really a story about the romance of newspapers and a good one - part of a tradition that goes all the way back to Ben Hecht and The Front Page. It may also mark the genre's end.
The film held me a fair way in, because it's well paced and the actors are competent. But finally, the plot took one or two big twists too far.
State of Play succeeds as mainstream entertainment to the point where it hardly makes sense to complain about its pulled political punches.
It hits the ground running, and - while never remotely innovative - manages to be unpredictable and labyrinthine enough to generally hold our attention.
Newspapers may be changing, but accessible adult movies of this quality are certain to keep Hollywood alive and kicking well into this century.
Director Kevin Macdonald attacks the material with aggression and panache, simultaneously decrying the fading stocks of serious journalism while marking out the shadow zone where government and big business seal their dirty deals.
I suspect that "State of Play's" minor faults will be easily forgivable by audiences just looking for some adult-level dramatics before they're banished for the summer movie season.
It's the kind of slick showstopper that's packed with enough twists, turns and deadly tension to lead the news any day of the week.
Represents mainstream Hollywood filmmaking at its best.
Audience Reviews for State of Play
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Movies Like State of Play
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- Detective Donald Bell: Whatever you're sellin', I ain't buyin'.
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- Congressman Stephen Collins: You're just seeking the truth. You're a truth seeker. You can't help it, that is just who you are. You're such a hypocrite. You're not interested in me. You come in here, it's all about you and you getting your story. I trusted you. You're my friend! You were supposed to be my friend anyway.
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Foreign Titles
- State of Play - Stand der Dinge (DE)
- Jeux de Pouvoir (FR)
A team of investigative reporters work alongside a police detective to try to solve the murder of a congressman's mistress.
REVIEW
"State of Play," directed by Kevin Macdonald, is a smart, topical political thriller whose cast of characters includes a congressional aide who dies under mysterious circumstances; a scandal-plagued Capitol Hill legislator; a seasoned reporter for a mainstream newspaper; an unseasoned cub reporter for that same paper's on-line blog; and a Blackwater-type quasi-military organization that will seemingly stop at nothing, even murder, in its effort to privatize the War on Terror for power and profit.
Ben Affleck is the congressman from Pennsylvania whose affair with the murdered woman threatens to bring to light some serious behind-the scenes skullduggery on the part of the company that is currently under investigation by Affleck's committee for alleged acts of brutality and terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. Russell Crowe is the journalist for the fictional "Washington Globe" who's investigating the case even though his lifelong friendship with both the congressman and the congressman's beautiful but long-suffering wife (Robin Penn Wright) may represent a major conflict-of-interest for the paper. Rachel McAdams is the wet-behind-the-ears blog reporter who joins Crowe in his investigation, and Helen Mirren is the no-nonsense editor-in-chief responsible for making sure that the two mutually antagonistic reporters work in tandem, rather than at cross purposes, in their effort to get the story. The script (based on a six-part British series) is complex but relatively easy to follow as it deftly twists and turns its way to its irony-drenched conclusion. As a sidebar, the movie examines how compromise has become the order of the day in journalism, now that an ever-dwindling number of "legitimate" newspapers are being forced to compete with sensationalistic tabloids and blogs for readership and revenue. A film for thinking adults.