I saw State of Play (2009) at the classic Rose theatre in Port Townsend, WA, and the movie turned out to be a classic thriller. Although some reviewers detected the condensation of a 6-hour mini-series into a 2 hour movie, I did not feel things were too crammed or rushed or superficial. Although some bloggers have said they had trouble following the plot, I had no trouble, but I had to pay attention carefully and keep the brain engaged for a full 2 hours. Yes, I felt shell-shocked from the unusual exertion. Although some people have labeled this a Russell Crowe movie, the ensemble is the star. Ben Affleck plays a politician with just the right amount of stiffness to make you think the guy is straight-laced but at the same time make you not quite trust him. Helen Mirren brings desperation and frustration alive in her role as a big-time newspaper editor. Rachael McAdams deftly avoids overplaying her role as cub reporter and novitiate investigative journalist. Robin Penn Wright eschews high drama and has a muted intensity appropriate to her position as the wronged wife of a politician. Russell gradually got me on side as his character developed--lots of bad traits but also lots of old-fashioned journalistic integrity and clear thinking that are rarely seen in action these days. Of course, it helps all of these actors to be working from a really well-written script with crisp, believable dialogue.
State of Play successfully develops not one but two themes. One theme is journalistic integrity. This is an important topic at the moment. CBC Radio recently aired a program about the state of daily papers, and the consensus among editors was that a web presence was keeping the newspaper going, and the primary goal of the web news was to be first in reporting breaking stories. This helped explain why I see on-the-spot reporters saying they are on the spot and don’t know anything yet. State of Play argues for not publishing a story until you have something worth reporting. It also argues in an old-fashioned way that a reporter should try to “get at the truth” and that there is actually a truth to be got at. Post-modern cynics, even if they do not call themselves that, will skewer such naiveté, but I found it refreshing. The other theme is corporate corruption, and here the movie does an outstanding job because it leads you to believe that the private security company is behind the murder, when this simple vilification of the corporation is too simple by far.