Review: State of Play

I caught a media screening of the new Russell Crowe flick, State of Play, in Chicago this week. It did not disappoint. The film’s trailers promise a taut, political thriller with a number of dramatic plot twists–and the movie delivers a pretty solid pay-off. I’ll admit in advance that I was predisposed to enjoy this film, so take my analysis with a few grains of salt:

1. I love this genre, and since many of these types of movies end up being terribly disappointing, a fairly well-executed thriller with a decent plot is more than enough to satisfy this customer.

2. I got to screen a movie for free that I was planning to plunk down $10 for. Did that win the movie some points in my book before it even began? Sure. Should it have? Probably not, but whatever…I’m 24. I’ll happily take the freebie.

3. The cast contained a number of my favorites, and remaining stars got the job done.

Crowe, despite being a reputed Class-A jerk, is a phenomenal actor. His portrayal of a gritty, old-school investigative journalist was very well done. As a journalism school grad, I still have a soft spot for characters like this, and he nailed it. The tense garage scene may have been an homage to All The Presidents Men.

Rachel McAdams did a nice job as an up-and-coming blogger who stumbles on a massive story. Her performance didn’t overwhelm, but she pulled of her role nicely. Plus, she’s really cute.

Helen Mirren captures perfectly the conflicted role of a news veteran trying to balance her new bosses’ demands for profits with her ingrained sense of responsible news-gathering. One of the film’s minor themes is the modern decline of newspapers, addressing the desperation in trying to stay relevant–and afloat.

Jason Bateman’s character–a public relations playboy–provides some comic relief that cuts the otherwise nonstop tension. He’s not just a funnyman, though. It’s still difficult for me to see Bateman and not think, “Michael Bluth,” which isn’t a bad thing.

Ben Affleck did a serviceable job as a young Congressman making his way through DC, contending with outside adversaries, personal failings, party politics, and quite a few secrets. Despite being a featured player in the film, Affleck didn’t ruin it. (Can you tell I’m not an admirer?)

Jeff Daniels channeled the role of hack politician to a T. It was almost as if he spent some time in DC prepping for the role.

Conservatives will certainly have a few gripes with the film, especially the fact that one of its main villains is a big, bad defense contractor run amok. (Did State of Play’s producers exchange notes with the 24 guys at some point? They might as well have called the evil company “Starkwood”). Some may also bristle at the heroic portrayal of the journalists, who at least appear to be the only moral players in the plot.

Despite these quibbles, I’d still recommend seeing the movie. It didn’t have too many edge-of-your-seat moments, but a few developments drew gasps from the crowd. The plot was clever enough, and it lacked the tedious predictability from which many similar films suffer.

I’d give it a solid B.

State of Play opens nationwide Friday.