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State of Play (2009)

 -  Drama | Mystery  -  17 April 2009 (USA)
7.1
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Ratings: 7.1/10 from 80,821 users   Metascore: 64/100
Reviews: 212 user | 244 critic | 36 from Metacritic.com

A team of investigative reporters work alongside a police detective to try to solve the murder of a congressman's mistress.

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(screenplay), (screenplay), 2 more credits »
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2 wins & 2 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Anne Collins (as Robin Wright Penn)
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Detective Bell
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Mandi
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Storyline

A petty thief is gunned down in an alley and a Congressman's assistant falls in front of a subway - two seemingly unrelated deaths. But not to wisecracking, brash newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey who spies a conspiracy waiting to be uncovered. With a turbulent past connected to the Congressman and the aid of ambitious young rookie writer Della Frye, Cal begins uprooting clues that lead him to a corporate cover-up full of insiders, informants, and assassins. But as he draws closer to the truth, the relentless journalist must decide if it's worth risking his life and selling his soul to get the ultimate story. Written by The Massie Twins

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Find The Truth

Genres:

Drama | Mystery

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence, language including sexual references, and brief drug content | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

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Country:

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Language:

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Release Date:

17 April 2009 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Los secretos del poder  »

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£1,513,951 (UK) (24 April 2009)

Gross:

$36,965,395 (USA) (12 June 2009)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

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Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

During the preproduction phase of filming, several sources reported that Haverford College, a prestigious liberal arts college in the "Main Line" area outside Philadelphia, had been approached for production design and costume items meant to imply that the two main characters, Cal McAffrey and Stephen Collins, had first met while attending Haverford. Although a plaque with the Haverford logo does appear in the background in one scene, there is no further on-screen acknowledgment of the characters' shared alma mater. See more »

Goofs

Midway through the movie, when a character takes the Washington Globe off of a news rack, it is a tabloid. In the final scene, it's a broadsheet. See more »

Quotes

Cal McAffrey: The newspaper article he types reads: Three Deaths Tied to Gulf War Army Associate New evidence links Rep. Stephen Collins with the suspect in the killings of three people, including Sonia baker, the congressman's political researcher. When confronted by the Washington Globe with information tying him to suspect Robert Bingham, Collins admitted he had directed his former Army associate to follow Baker after learning that she was secretly on the payroll of military contractor PointCorp. Collins,...
See more »

Crazy Credits

The printing process of a newspaper is shown as the ending credits start to show up. See more »


Soundtracks

"Shalom"
Written by Gergely Nemeth, Zsolt Prieger
Performed by Anima Sound System
Courtesy of EMI Music Publishing Hungary on behalf of Anima Sound System
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Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
A must-see for the American public
26 April 2009 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

Character-wise, this movie doesn't have the complex figures of the best political thrillers. Dialogs are the brightest. Editing is great and the music's appropriate without being too prominent. But those are small quibbles when it comes to one of the most honest major features to come out in a long time. You'll hardly know where the facts end and where the fiction begins, because so much of it, barely obscured by a change of name, is real. As much a fiction this movie is, it may as well be a documentary.

I watched this in a mostly empty theater on a Sunday night. Americans, they told you so.


54 of 86 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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Not a patch on BBC version betterthanronaldo
Is this the movie I'm thinking of??? moviebuf-11
Has Stephen Collins done anything to land him in jail? boweasel
No one but Bill Cosby... BitterBlue911
4 deaths? Zebblin
Jason Bateman... dukemdm
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