State of Play (2009)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Kevin Macdonald

Writers (WGA):

Matthew Michael Carnahan (screenplay) and
Tony Gilroy (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 April 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Find The Truth

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Congressman | Mistress | Assassin | Newspaper Reporter | Newspaper

US Showtimes:

(register to personalize)

Cast

Russell Crowe	...	Cal McAffrey
Ben Affleck	...	Rep. Stephen Collins
Rachel McAdams	...	Della Frye
Helen Mirren	...	Cameron Lynne
Robin Wright Penn	...	Anne Collins
Jason Bateman	...	Dominic Foy
Jeff Daniels	...	Rep. George Fergus
Michael Berresse	...	Robert Bingham
Harry Lennix	...	Det. Donald Bell
Josh Mostel	...	Pete
Michael Weston	...	Hank
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Gene Stavitz
Viola Davis	...	Dr. Judith Franklin
David Harbour	...	PointCorp Insider
Sarah Lord	...	Mandi Brokaw

Also Known As:

Jeux de pouvoir (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, language including sexual references, and brief drug content.

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45139) | Australia:M | UK:12A | South Korea:12 | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-13 | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | South Africa:13LS (13LV) | New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Iceland:12 | Mexico:B | France:U | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Germany:12 (f) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Americana Hotel - 1400 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia, USA

Company:

Andell Entertainment

Trivia:

"The Night That Paddy Murphy Dies" is the song featured in the opening scene of the movie. The song is by Great Big Sea, a band from Newfoundland, Canada. Alan Doyle, Great Big Sea's lead singer, and Russell Crowe are known to be close friends. In previous years, Crowe has been spotted numerous times visiting the province of Newfoundland.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the DC Police detectives descended en masse on the newspaper's offices, they had FBI badges on chains around their necks. DC detectives wear DC police badges.

Quotes:

[from trailer]
Della Frye: Did we just break the law?
Cal McAffrey: Nope. That's what you call damn fine reporting.

Movie Connections:

References Bambi (1942)

Soundtrack:

Long As I Can See The Light

A must-see for the American public

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.