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Russell Crowe as reporter Cal McAffrey in State of Play |
Crowe is a headline act as reporter
STATE OF PLAY
Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Certificate 12a
IN this film by Kentish Town-based director Kevin MacDonald, the reporter takes the role of the gumshoe dick – it’s a well-trodden path.
The newshound is an investigator who provides a heroic, rebellious character. Armed with a notebook instead of a six-shooter, he uncovers dastardly plots in the corridors of power.
MacDonald’s films – he was behind the superb The Last King of Scotland – and numerous documentaries have set extremely high standards. This thriller does not disappoint.
We meet our ace scoop Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) behind the wheel of a beat-up Saab with a decrepit stereo blasting out The Pogues. He is on the way to a murder scene and from the moment he begins speaking to the investigating officer you can tell this reporter has all the contacts he could wish for.
We discover that Cal is friendly with suave congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Alffleck) – and when Collins’ research assistant dies suddenly under the wheels of a train, Cal begins to think that her death may be linked to a pair of seemingly random murders.
Collins is investigating the role of Pointcorps, a shady company who have been doing private security work in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heading the inquiry into their work, Collins fears they will eventually be given a private contract to run much of America’s homeland security.
All these facts create clues that Cal and his sidekick Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) must unravel.
Other back stories, are used as devices to give the plot some context and also trumpet the fact the film clearly knows what’s what.
We hear Cal’s employers at the Washington Globe have been taken over by a new faceless corporation who care little for journalistic integrity and more about the numbers of copies they flog.
Then there is the tension between Cal, the traditional reporter who carefully forms his stories on the back of in-depth research, and his new sidekick, Capital Hill blogger Frye who updates her articles every hour and uses comment to pad out the lack of facts her pieces hold.
If there is a tiny flaw in this otherwise brilliant film, it is the feeling that the conspiracy theory relies a little on one man, and that those on the wrong side of the law were not exactly careful in covering up their behaviour.
Still, Russell Crowe stalks the news room with just the right amount of menace, Helen Mirren is brilliant (of course) as his editor, while Ben Affleck has the chiselled jawline to play soldier-turned-congressman.
Overall, a very speedy, intriguing and enjoyable way to spend two and a bit hours. |
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