State of Play

Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck are a classic mismatch. Crowe is one of the greatest actors alive, one who is so natural and believable in any role. Then, while standing next to the great thespian, Affleck looks like a kid who snuck into Dad’s closet, put on a suit and is pretending to be a grown up.

Crowe stars as Cal McAffrey – the prototypical newspaper reporter you always see in movies and TV. He’s disheveled, drinks a bit, uses a roguish charm to win over people, has little respect for authority, and knows exactly where to find the information he needs to break the big story (and he is a big Steelers fan, so he is the good guy in State of Play). However, this story might be bigger than he or anyone could ever handle.

Cal’s old buddy, Congressman Stephen Collins (Affleck), has been working day and night to bring down a corrupt pseudo-military corporation that is getting a bit too big for his comfort. Sadly, the aide who has been helping with the investigation ends up dead in a horrific accident. And, yes, Congressman Collins has been, umm, spending time in the cloakroom with her (Polling the electorate?).

Where will the trail lead Cal?

What is the truth?

Does it matter?

State of Play is a decent thriller where the details dry up, but you get enough action and intrigue to keep you interested. Writers Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray (based on the BBC series from Paul Abbott) get distracted by trying to develop some discussion about sensationalism vs. journalism, capitalism vs. seeking the truth, as well as constant barbs about print reporters vs. internet writers, when they should have done more to build the mystery.

State of Play is like the beginning of a hot and heavy romance as it starts off with all sorts of possibilities, the promise of shocking twists and turns, and lots of action in the dark of night, but it burns out too soon. Director Kevin Macdonald runs out of mystery and intrigue, so he is forced to fill the rest of the movie with some action scenes, which get your pulse pumping, but the audience gets a B-level thriller instead of one that is A+, which is appropriate since we have one A+ actor and one who is more of a B.

State of Play will remind you why Russell Crowe is awesome, but I kind of felt bad for Affleck. Crowe uses every moment to blow us away whether wheeling and dealing for information, standing up for his dedication to the truth and the story, or getting the audience worried when it looks like Cal is facing impending doom. Then, you have Affleck.

Don’t get me wrong, Affleck is not horrible, but he’s serviceable while Crowe is magnificent. You can’t point to any minute in the film where you as an audience member think, “I am so glad Ben Affleck is playing this character.” He showed us some great skills in Hollywoodland, and exhibited some ability as a director of Gone Baby Gone, but he kind of blends into the background in State of Play. Much the same can be said for co-stars Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren as McAdams is along for the ride and Mirren takes a more brassy, broad turn as the newspaper editor. Neither of these fine actresses is called upon to be more than typical and simple, which is a shame.

State of Play wanders off into campy territory at times, with mixed results, but the good outweighs the bad.

State of Play is rated PG-13 for some violence, language including sexual references, and brief drug content.