Jeff Daniels | pinartarhan.com

Also feat. Robin Wright, Jason Bateman & Jeff Daniels

State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel Mcadams and Helen Mirren feat. Robin Wright, Jason Bateman & Jeff Daniels. Image via movie-list.com

Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is a smart and successful congressman investigating private “mercenary-providing” companies. His good reputation goes down the drain, however, when his assistant is killed, and it is revealed that they were having an affair.

A grieving Stephen has his career and marriage on the line and the only person who can help him is his old university friend, journalist for the Washington Globe, Cal (Russell Crowe). As he digs more into the story, initially to help Stephen get out of the mess, he stumbles into political agendas, conflicts of interest (including his own) and life-risking situations.

Throw in a full-brown government-related conspiracy, emotional baggage between Cal and Stephen’s wife (Robin Wright), a blogger-turning-into-a-reporter named Della (Rachel McAdams) helping Cal, an ambitious editor (Helen Mirren) getting impatient and caring less about loyalties and manners and more about the juice and you have a very entertaining and gripping political thriller, with the stellar cast as a bonus.

State of Play flows like a well-written novel: slower at times, but only to build up for the more significant upcoming scenes and/or to make things even more complicated.

Why I Loved State of Play

– All characters are pretty much as grey as it gets, although Rachel McAdams’ character seems to evolve and learn the most.

– Cal does try to protect his friend from a downfall- but his sense of loyalty hasn’t stopped him from sleeping with his wife in the past.

– The enthusiastic blogger turns into a reporter who cares about the ethics and the safety of the others more than the seasoned reporters she is working with.

– It’s great that there is no romance between Cal and Della – in fact, Cal’s personal life is pretty much doomed but he has no intention of doing anything about it. He has a story to write.

– The more desperate Della and Cal get, the more creative they get in getting their information and evidence.

– Nothing is ever what it seems- except when it comes to the Cal, Della and Cameron (Helen Mirren) who might make some bad decisions, border on breaking the law and disagree on a lot of things.

– The journalist-aka the protagonist- is a not a fit, muscular guy who can take care of himself.

– The cast.

Well, there are more, but these are the first that came to my mind. It is not perfect, but it is pretty damn good. Rated at 7.2 on IMDB – voted by over 62.000 people. 8/10 from me.

Directed by Kevin MacDonald (Last King of Scotland). Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom, Lions for Lambs) , Tony Gilroy (Duplicity) and Billy Ray- based on the series by Paul Abbott.

Other Posts on The Cast

Wow, Jeff Daniels has grown up!!! I don’t mean it in a bad way. Sure he has gotten a little old, hell- he is 54 now. But do you remember the 1994 hit Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carrey? Yep, Jeff was the other lead. So it is funny to remember that role. He has matured and this is a lovely romantic comedy. Although it is a little different than your typical rom-com. It has characters whose paths cross in funny ways yet it has dramatic elements. Jeff Daniels’ grumpy and edgy character Arlen Faber is good for laughs.

So Arlen Faber- as the opening credits tells us- has written a book called “Me & God” 20 years ago. The book has become a hit of hits, a life-changing book for many and Arlen has millions of fans all over the world. Yet the man is a mystery. He has never given any interviews and his picture was never shown anywhere so no one even knows what he looks like. We, the viewer, however know who it is. The book has given all the answers you might wanna know about life in general. So after the credits, one might expect a serene, confident and well, nice guy. Instead, we have an unpleasant, grumpy, and weird guy living alone in a huge house with signs attached on the rooms, describing what they are. He meditates all the time and reads self-help books but it doesn’t cheer him up.

Then there is Elizabeth (Lauren Graham)- a single, over-protective mother who runs a chiropractor’s practice. And Kris (Lou Taylor Pucci), who is a recently recovered alcoholic and the owner of the bookstore that will also be another character in the movie.

One day Arlen has to go to a healing center after an awfully funny back incident and there he meets Elizabeth. After that, we find a whole different Arlen. With Elizabeth and near her son, he is nice, fun and wise. With others, of course he is usually an ass but starts to develop a strange friendship with Kris as well.

You have quirky characters with problems. And Arlen seems to have a good reason for being the “ass” that he is. …

It is a good movie. It is fun and interesting and eccentric. It could have been a little longer and I wish Arlen had a different secret behind the book. But I certainly do not agree with the viewers that think the movie is a rip off As Good As It Gets with Jack Nicholson. What? We can’t have a weird guy and single mother in a story anymore? C’ mon…

Watch it. Sure, there will be things you wish had been done differently. The writer/director John Hindman has pulled off a decent movie that I find honest and real. 6.6 on IMDB. A heartfelt 7 from me!

Other Posts on The Cast

Russell Crowe:

Ben Affleck:

Rachel McAdams