State of Play: Movie Review (2009)

Directed by Kevin Macdonald, written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray, 127 minutes, rated PG-13.

The new Kevin Macdonald movie, “State of Play,” is based on David Yates’ politically charged 2003 British mini-series of the same name. That show was set in London, it starred David Morrissey, Bill Nighy, Kelly Macdonald, James McAvoy and a host of others, and in spite of its six-hour running time (divided into six episodes), it raced by on the rails of its intelligent script and terrific performances.

For those who saw the series and enjoyed it, keep those memories alive and savor them. For those who haven’t seen it, it makes for a swell rental. And for those of either party who are curious about this new, condensed Hollywood take on that tale, well, the news is mixed.

From Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray’s script, “State of Play” suffers from a weak first half before it ramps into a more compelling second half. It is, perhaps, the first newspaper weepy, so justifiably glum about the declining state of the newspaper industry, it goes out of its way--maybe a bit too far and with too much of a heavy hand--to remind us why newspapers and good journalists matter.

In a world overcome by amateurish blogs and news sites updating their news stories on the fly (and with increasing levels of inaccuracy), here is a movie about the importance of eschewing the impulse of stitching together a story via breaking news in favor of getting the whole story right the first time, and then publishing it in print for the record.

That's an admirable point of view, but instead of being the backbone of “State of Play,” whose core story really is about a government cover-up, Macdonald gets sidetracked by industry sentiment, which steals away at least some of his story's tension.

In the film, Russell Crowe is Cal McAffrey, a reporter with a catcher’s mitt for a face and the biggest hair in the room who works for the fictional newspaper, The Washington Globe. Physically, Cal is a wreck, but he has a sharp mind for news, which is unfortunate for his old college pal, U.S. Rep. Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck, looking too many years younger than Crowe for the college angle to be believable), whose research assistant commits suicide as the movie opens.

Or did she? Ushered into the plot are complications and implications, from a corrupt conglomerate called PointCorp to an affair Cal once had with Collins’ wife (Robin Wright Penn, wasted) to a madman eager to have blood on his hands to Cal’s working relationship with Della, a saucy blogger played by Rachel McAdams.

Della wants to be a real journalist. Guess who’s going to help her get her game on? Meanwhile, a marvelous Helen Mirren is cast as the Globe’s editor-in-chief, whose newspaper is hemorrhaging money, but who nevertheless believes enough in Cal to stop the presses so he can bring in the story. In this climate, it’s something of a stretch to believe that she would do so, but since “State of Play” has romantic ideas about what the newspaper industry used to be before technology got in its way, it just goes with it.

With a perfectly smarmy Jason Bateman and Jeff Daniels in supporting roles, “State of Play” has no shortage of good performances. In fact, only Affleck strains to achieve what everyone else here manages so seamlessly--credibility. When he seethes with anger, images of a disgruntled puppy breaking in new teeth come to mind, which makes for moments of low laughter. But that’s not the case for the rest of the cast, who go a long way in lifting this otherwise so-so throwback as much as they do.

Grade: B-

View the trailer for "State of Play" here: