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IMDbPro

State of Play

  • 20092009
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
152K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,257
227
Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, and Rachel McAdams in State of Play (2009)
Picture-perfect U.S. congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) seems to be the rising star in the world of politics -- until his research assistant, who was also his mistress, is murdered. And then the secrets start coming out...
Play trailer2:30
3 Videos
52 Photos
CrimeDramaMystery
When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
152K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,257
227
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Kevin Macdonald
    • Writers
      • Matthew Michael Carnahan(screenplay)
      • Tony Gilroy(screenplay)
      • Billy Ray(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Russell Crowe
      • Rachel McAdams
      • Ben Affleck
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Kevin Macdonald
    • Writers
      • Matthew Michael Carnahan(screenplay)
      • Tony Gilroy(screenplay)
      • Billy Ray(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Russell Crowe
      • Rachel McAdams
      • Ben Affleck
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 292User reviews
    • 154Critic reviews
    • 64Metascore
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 4 nominations

    Videos3

    State of Play: Trailer #2
    Trailer 2:30
    State of Play: Trailer #2
    State of Play: Trailer
    Trailer 2:28
    State of Play: Trailer
    State of Play (2009)
    Clip 0:31
    State of Play (2009)

    Photos52

    Helen Mirren in State of Play (2009)
    Helen Mirren and Kevin Macdonald in State of Play (2009)
    Russell Crowe in State of Play (2009)
    Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren in State of Play (2009)
    Helen Mirren and Rachel McAdams in State of Play (2009)
    Rachel McAdams in State of Play (2009)
    Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren in State of Play (2009)
    Russell Crowe and Kevin Macdonald in State of Play (2009)
    Russell Crowe in State of Play (2009)
    Rachel McAdams in State of Play (2009)
    Kevin Macdonald in State of Play (2009)
    Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams in State of Play (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Russell Crowe
    Russell Crowe
    • Cal McAffrey
    Rachel McAdams
    Rachel McAdams
    • Della Frye
    Ben Affleck
    Ben Affleck
    • Stephen Collins
    Helen Mirren
    Helen Mirren
    • Cameron Lynne
    Robin Wright
    Robin Wright
    • Anne Collins
    • (as Robin Wright Penn)
    Jason Bateman
    Jason Bateman
    • Dominic Foy
    Jeff Daniels
    Jeff Daniels
    • George Fergus
    Michael Berresse
    Michael Berresse
    • Robert Bingham
    Harry Lennix
    Harry Lennix
    • Detective Bell
    Josh Mostel
    Josh Mostel
    • Pete
    Michael Weston
    Michael Weston
    • Hank
    Barry Shabaka Henley
    Barry Shabaka Henley
    • Gene Stavitz
    Viola Davis
    Viola Davis
    • Dr. Judith Franklin
    David Harbour
    David Harbour
    • PointCorp Insider
    Sarah Lord
    • Mandi
    Tuck Milligan
    Tuck Milligan
    • PointCorp Executive
    Steve Park
    Steve Park
    • Chris Kawai
    • (as Stephen Park)
    Brennan Brown
    Brennan Brown
    • Andrew Pell
    • Director
      • Kevin Macdonald
    • Writers
      • Matthew Michael Carnahan(screenplay)
      • Tony Gilroy(screenplay)
      • Billy Ray(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      There is a partially hidden photo of real-life Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of 1970's Watergate fame on the wall of McAffrey's cubicle.
    • Goofs
      In the final scene of the printing montage at the end, the sign on the side of the truck says "Washington Post".
    • Quotes

      Della Frye: [referring to Foy] And why do you think he's gonna talk?

      Hank: Because he's scared.

      Della Frye: How do you know?

      Cal McAffrey: Because I'm gonna scare him.

    • Crazy credits
      The printing process of a newspaper is shown as the ending credits start to show up.
    • Connections
      Featured in Screenwipe: Episode #5.3 (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      The Night Pat Murphy Died
      (Traditional)

      Arranged by Alan Doyle, Bob Hallett (as Robert Hallett), Sean McCann, Darrell Power

      Performed by Great Big Sea

      Courtesy of Sonic Entertainment Group and Warner Music Canada Co.

    User reviews292

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    A Pleasant Throw Back to Early Pressburger/Powell Espionage and a Pakula Classic
    Whether you loved em' or hated em', espionage thrillers made up a generous portion of cinema from the 1940-50's. With fast paced, edge of your seat story lines, plot twists, political undertones and dramatic personal struggles with morality, nobody did it better than Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell. Their attention to character detail and it's purpose in conjunction with the narrative gave heart and humanity to this new string of movies which could have fallen into similar (yet shallower) alpha male characters such as James Bond. Never the less, we cannot forget that ultimately if it weren't for their vision and invention of the genre, Hollywood may have never capitalized on the staggeringly profitable Bond franchise that's still going strong today.

    In the mid 70's, due to the heat of the political environment at that time, the genre decided to go in the same direction. All The Presidents Men, brought to light the investigative strategies of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and tackled the Watergate scandal from the perspective of the Washington Post. As audiences, we shared in the thrill of being able to follow the case as it unfolded, interviewing witnesses and piecing together clues in order to make a 10 O'clock print deadline. We were part of the chase, the scandal and always privy to the evidence necessary to solve the mystery at hand...that is until a new piece of evidence arose and bashed in all of our original assumptions.

    State of Play may be the first film to pay homage to this Pakula classic while dually creating more poignant themes for today's political atmosphere. Crowe plays a reporter for the Washington Post and McAdams, an internet blogger, serving as our Woodward and Bernstein clones on the case of a Senator, Affleck, whose mistress succumbs to a rather untimely death VIA train tracks. To add insult to injury, it turns out that our reporter and senator are practically best friends. The plot unfolds, relationships falter and the real truth, to our pleasant surprise, blindsides us like a drunk driver on a narrow road.

    Director Kevin Macdonald clearly knows what he's doing here and along with a well written screenplay by Tony Gilroy, carefully crafts a neat, sharp and extremely entertaining thrill ride of a movie whose run time is 2 hours and 15 minutes, but feels like 30. State of Play never fails at keeping you guessing, does a fine job of throwing in a few curve balls, and leaves you with a clean taste in your mouth come end credits. What more do you want? Sure. It isn't the next Best Picture and Crowe won't take home an Oscar, but you'll enjoy some nail biting action scenes and there are much worse things to look at than Rachel McAdams on the big screen for a few hours.

    Helen Mirren is delightful in what little screen time she is given. Affleck is "good", although decided to play it completely safe in a role that even he really can't screw up. Lets face it, he needed to gain even a small amount of points since Hollywoodland and the flops that followed in his footsteps.

    Overall, you'll be as pleased and refreshed as I was to see a picture that has the finesse of an espionage thriller, the entertainment value of an All The Presidents Men political drama and the edginess that we should expect from a modern day piece of cinema that doesn't star Miley Cyrus.
    helpful•140
    63
    • amarcordforever
    • Apr 16, 2009

    FAQ15

    • What is "State of Play" about?
    • Is "State of Play" based on a book?
    • What does the title mean?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 17, 2009 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • United Kingdom
      • France
    • Official site
      • Official site (France)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Cantonese
    • Also known as
      • Los secretos del poder
    • Filming locations
      • 612 S Flower Street, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Working Title Films
      • StudioCanal
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $60,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $37,017,955
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $14,071,280
      • Apr 19, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $87,812,371
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 7 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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