{"id":8304,"date":"2012-06-03T21:22:15","date_gmt":"2012-06-03T19:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pinartarhan.com\/blog\/?p=8304"},"modified":"2012-06-03T21:22:16","modified_gmt":"2012-06-03T19:22:16","slug":"state-of-play-starring-russell-crowe-ben-affleck-rachel-mcadams-and-helen-mirren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinartarhan.com\/blog\/state-of-play-starring-russell-crowe-ben-affleck-rachel-mcadams-and-helen-mirren\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel Mcadams and Helen Mirren"},"content":{"rendered":"

Also feat. Robin Wright, Jason Bateman & Jeff Daniels<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"State<\/a>
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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck<\/a>) is a smart and successful congressman investigating private \u201cmercenary-providing\u201d companies. His good reputation goes down the drain, however, when his assistant is killed, and it is revealed that they were having an affair.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>). 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.<\/p>\n

Throw in a full-brown government-related conspiracy, emotional baggage between Cal and Stephen\u2019s wife (Robin Wright<\/a>), a blogger-turning-into-a-reporter named Della (Rachel McAdams<\/a>) helping Cal, an ambitious editor (Helen Mirren<\/a>) 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Why I Loved State of Play<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 All characters are pretty much as grey as it gets, although Rachel McAdams<\/a>\u2019 character seems to evolve and learn the most.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cal does try to protect his friend from a downfall- but his sense of loyalty hasn\u2019t stopped him from sleeping with his wife in the past.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0It\u2019s great that there is no romance between Cal and Della \u2013 in fact, Cal\u2019s personal life is pretty much doomed but he has no intention of doing anything about it. He has a story to write.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The more desperate Della and Cal get, the more creative they get in getting their information and evidence.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The journalist-aka the protagonist- is a not a fit, muscular guy who can take care of himself.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The cast.<\/p>\n

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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 \u2013 voted by over 62.000 people. 8\/10 from me.<\/p>\n

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

Other Posts on The Cast<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Russell Crowe:<\/h4>\n

A Good Year starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard<\/a><\/p>\n

A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris & Paul Bettany<\/a><\/p>\n

Ben Affleck:<\/h4>\n

The Company Men starring Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello & Kevin Costner<\/a><\/p>\n

Ben Affleck Trivia: 13 Facts About Ben Affleck Movies, His Wife Jennifer Garner and More<\/a><\/p>\n

Rachel McAdams<\/h4>\n

Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law & Rachel McAdams<\/a><\/p>\n

The Time Traveler\u2019s Wife starring Eric Bana & Rachel McAdams<\/a><\/p>\n

Nicolas Sparks vs. Happy Endings: The Notebook starring Rachel McAdams & Ryan Gosling<\/a><\/p>\n

Wedding Crashers starring Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson & Rachel McAdams<\/a><\/p>\n

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