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State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel Mcadams and Helen Mirren

Posted on June 3, 2012 Written by ripitup

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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.
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

Russell Crowe:

A Good Year starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard

A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris & Paul Bettany

Ben Affleck:

The Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello & Kevin Costner

Ben Affleck Trivia: 13 Facts About Ben Affleck Movies, His Wife Jennifer Garner and More

Rachel McAdams

Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law & Rachel McAdams

The Time Traveler’s Wife starring Eric Bana & Rachel McAdams

Nicolas Sparks vs. Happy Endings: The Notebook starring Rachel McAdams & Ryan Gosling

Wedding Crashers starring Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson & Rachel McAdams

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: ben affleck, helen mirren, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright, russell crowe, state of play, state of play 2009 movie, state of play cast, state of play movie, state of play movie review

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