Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck power complex thriller (State of Play (DVD))

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	State of Play (DVD)
Date:	03/05/09 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: acting

Disadvantages: impossible to guess what's going on

A bag thief is chased down and murdered in a back alley, and an aide for a congressman dies under mysterious circumstances, but what links the two? In State of Play, Russell Crowe stars as eccentric journalist Cal McAffrey. Cal is investigating the bag thief murder when his old friend, Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) comes into his life again, linked to the death of the female aide. The movie follows Cal playing more detective than journalist, as he seeks out the truth in a twisted world of corrupt politics and industry.

Plot-wise, this is a well though out film full of twists and turns, that is set in the corrupt world of American politics and business. Whilst it never gets dull, the one thing I didn't like about it is that there's no real way of working out what's happening (the twists and turns are just thrown on you, with no subtlety which would allow you to join in as detective).

The world of American politics is occasionally confusing, and if you don't know what Congress is or what bills are, some of it will probably go over your head.

I can't help but make allusions with 'Body Of Lies', which was Crowe's last film about politics and terrorism. Well, this has similarities, but the bad guys are on home turf (for the yanks anyway!).

The acting is just stellar - Crowe is totally believable as an obsessive, eccentric journalist, and the rest of the cast are great too; Ben Affleck comes across as a real politician, which is quite a jump for him, but he does it with ease. Even smaller roles, such as Helen Mirren as the editor, are just fantastically performed.

All in all, this is a nice little thriller that will keep you guessing, and is powered by brilliant acting, and fans should definitely also see 'Body of Lies'.

Summary: watch it