State of Play

No secrets here I’m a Russell Crowe fan and I look forward to his films when they come out. There are a few actors in Hollywood who I’ll see anything they make. Even if the film is only mediocre, their performances usually make it worth seeing. Crowe is one of them along with Daniel Day Lewis (who Crowe recently named as his favorite actor working in film during his SOP press), Sean Penn, Michael Caine, Denzel Washington, Edward Norton, Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Judy Densch and Amy Adams. A few others hover on the outskirts, but the reasons I see them are sometimes as much for their physical attributes as their acting skills (hello, Gerard Butler, Clive Owen and Hugh Jackman) or they seem like real up and comers worth keeping an eye on (Rachel McAdams, Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling).

State of Play is a solid conspiracy story thriller set in Washington, D.C. which takes you inside of the current world of journalism with a side look at Washington politics. Crowe plays Cal McCaffrey. He’s a veteran old style journalist who believes it’s all about the story and verifying your sources. Stories that have checked out before jumping into them for pure sensationalism and to sell an extra paper. He has a dislike for the online journalists who he sees as not doing enough leg work on a story.

Crowe looks awful physically in this picture. He’s overweight and out of shape. A fast food junky who’s hair looks stuck in the 1970s and he’s lucky to make it to fifty without a coronary event. And as much as I enjoy the physical attributes of certain actors (see first paragraph), the look fits for this character. Crowe again morphs into a role to leave him hardly physically recognizable to Maximus Decimus Meridius, Jack Aubrey, James Braddock, John Nash or even his last role as Ed Hoffman in Body of Lies who Crowe came off of into this role. He truly is a character actor in the body of leading man when he chooses to be.

Cal’s best friend from college is an upwardly mobile congressman played by Ben Affleck. This is a casting problem for me in this film. There is no way you can see Russell Crowe (looking like he does in this role) being Ben Affleck’s undergraduate college roommate. There appears to be a 10 year age difference between the two men on film here. Affleck does okay here (he’s one of my least favorite wooden actors in Hollywood, minus a few roles like Hollywoodland), but I could never get past this physical disparity and kept wondering what Edward Norton would have done with the role if he hadn’t had to leave the film due to another conflicting film start after the schedule was pushed back.

Rachel McAdams plays the young online journalist who ends up as Crowe’s mentee, protégée and adversary all rolled into one. She’s good in this part and the non romantic chemistry between the two is very good. Thank goodness they didn’t go for a romantic pairing between the two and it remained collegial.

Ever scene between McCaffrey and his strong and rather overbearing sell papers at all costs boss (Helen Mirren) leaves you thirsting for more. These two are great on screen together and you really want more scenes with the two of them.

Underused is Robin Wright Penn. She’s a good actress, but her role as the put upon wife (of Affleck’s philandering character) and ex-lover (of McCaffrey’s) isn’t really given enough screen time to develop. I especially couldn’t feel a strong chemistry between her and Crowe here.

Jason Bateman has a small role that makes you sit up and go WOW. No more Teen Wolf 2. He’s terrific and also makes you want to see more of his character.

The performances are the strongest part of this film. The story is average with the feeling you’ve seen all the parts in a dozen other thrillers over the last 30 years. It did keep me involved until the bottom fell out of the suspense about 20 minutes before the end of the film. The director (Kevin Macdonald) should have edited this differently to keep the audience closer to the edge of their seats. He tries to pull you back in, but I never completely was again. His other film The Last King of Scotland didn’t have this same problem and it is a superior film.

I’d give this film a B. It’s entertaining and worth the admission. Without the great performances it would be merely an average thriller worth no more than a matinee price.

State of Play Brief Review

State of Play-Brief Review


State of Play ended up being what I'd pretty much anticipated it would be--great thriller and another excellent showcase for Russell's talents. There were also some very pleasant surprises. I normally won't try to pick a movie of Russell's apart until I'm seeing it for at least the third time, so these are basically just things that jumped out at me.

As usual, Russell's character, Cal McAffrey, is so three-dimensional that I felt I knew this guy. In the first moments of the film, Cal became real to me, in the sense of here's someone who's a real introvert. Yes, the major part of his job may be in interviewing people and interacting with them constantly in order to gain information, but the people don't interest Cal nearly as much as the information does.

I've read a lot about the sets on this movie, and they are truly amazing. The newsroom is incredibly realistic. The hotel room where Cal and Della interview Dominic Foy is a very generic, impersonal place and that comes across on the screen. Cal's cubicle and his apartment convey him perfectly. Information and words are what mean something to him. The printed word. The way both places are piled high with books, magazines, and newspapers totally dominating says it all.

Speaking of Dominic Foy, that was one of the movie's most pleasant surprises for me. Jason Bateman was the absolute epitome of the sleazy PR guy who expects to be "compensated" for every word that comes out of his mouth, every idea that comes to his mind. A couple of times I tried reminding myself that I was looking at that tall kid from "The Hogan Family", but it didn't work. He simply was Dominic Foy.

Ben Affleck came across well as the career politician. In some ways I felt almost sorry for Stephen Collins in the end. He came across as a man who had gone into politics for the real purpose of serving the public, but found himself in the position of being run by the political machine and not sure how he got there. Some people made noise about the age difference between Russell and Ben making their relationship as past college roommates unbelievable, but I didn't get that. It's only an eight year difference and when you think in terms of Cal having basically let himself go, while a politician would be highly aware of his image, it makes sense.

Helen Mirren, of course, is always wonderful and leaves me in awe of her talent. Rachel McAdams does a great job as the cub reporter and blogger. My sense was that Della Frye had been insulated by her job and by the way she did it. In working with Cal, she began to see the very real people and the very real violence behind the words she typed on her keyboard. Rachel and Russell did a very good job portraying the relationship between Della and Cal growing to one of mutual respect and even friendship.

Kevin McDonald's directing was wonderful. All of the drama came through while, at times, I could feel his background in documentary. I got the sense I was in a real newsroom, a real hospital room, a real crime scene.

All in all, I think "State of Play" is an excellent example of a movie that's difficult to make--an exciting thriller with solid, well-portrayed characters at the heart of it.

Layne

State of Play Today!

Today's Cal Day! Everyone have fun at the movies! Or sometime this weekend!

BBC Interview: Russell on State of Play

In this interview from the BBC, Russell talks "State of Play", journalism, and Robin Hood.

more about "BBC Interview: Russell on State of Play", posted with vodpod

State of Play Video Clips

Thanks to CinemaBlend, here are six video clips from State of Play! Russell gives a terrific performance, but the clip that surprised me was Jason Bateman. Take a look and tell us what you think.

State of Play trailers and video clips on Yahoo! Movies

Great new clip from State of Play, featuring Russell, Helen Mirren, and Rachel McAdams!

more about "State of Play trailers and video clip...", posted with vodpod

State of Play TV Spot

Here's a look at the TV ad running for State of Play. Every time I see something new about this movie, I look forward to it more!

State of Play International Trailer

Courtesy of Trailer Addict, here's the international trailer for "State of Play". Still scheduled for release in the U.S. and Canada April 17, 2009, and starring Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams,
Ben Affleck, and Helen Mirren.

State of Play Website

The official State of Play website has been updated! It's now more interactive, as well as having wallpapers (like the picture above) and icons to download. It also announces more coming before the April 17th opening! Check it out!

State of Play Poster

Courtesy of Empire Magazine (many, many thanks!), we get our first look at the real State of Play poster. From what I've seen so far, this poster actually conveys the feel of the movie. Makes me look forward to it even more!

Now This Is More Like It

On Friday I blogged about a poster that Hollywood.com was displaying as the "State of Play" movie poster. It featured a picture of Russell as Max Skinner from "A Good Year". While doing some of my usual digging around the internet for Russell news, I came across this poster on Italian site Sentieri Selvaggi. Now, this is more like it! At least here there's actually a picture of Russell as Cal McCaffrey!

Official State of Play Website

Here's the link to the official "State of Play" website:


State of Play

It has the movie's storyline, several pictures of the stars, and the official trailer. Not much else yet, but hopefully more the closer we get to the release date.

State of Play trailer

Here's Russell in the trailer for "State of Play". He does a terrific job as Cal McCaffrey, as do the rest of the cast, including Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdam, and Ben Affleck. Can hardly wait for the release in April!

State of Play Stills

Here's a few stills with Russell from State of Play. I'm really looking forward to this. Even from the stills, Russell looks spot-on as usual. Lost in the character of Cal McCaffrey. And the rest of the cast should be equally great!

State of Play

Empire Movies has an overview of State of Play, the upcoming movie in which Russell plays reporter Cal McCaffrey, a role originated by John Simm in the 2003 BBC miniseries. While I've seen the miniseries and loved it, I can't wait to see Russell's take on this role. I'm also looking forward to seeing other cast members Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman, Robin Wright Penn and Jeff Daniels. Here's an excerpt from the Empire Movies overview.

Oscar® winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast in a blistering thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in an case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders. Crowe plays D.C. reporter Cal McCaffrey, whose street smarts lead him to untangle a mystery of murder and collusion among some of the nation's most promising political and corporate figures in "State of Play," from acclaimed director Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland").

State of Play is scheduled for release April 17, 2009.