In what's nothing short of full-fledged irony, newspapers are routinely reporting on the shuttering of their industry's paper and ink players, leaving one to wonder which will be the last to run a story on its own demise. With the eventual last run of the printing press, newspapers will join a list of products from a bygone era that were delivered to one's home, as if by magic, to greet one in the morning, just like the milk, eggs and such left by those rarely seen.
Of course, newspapers will still be delivered, albeit electronically to one's computer, cell phone or PDA. Yet, it just won't be the same, and the fear among many old school folks -- as well as those in the news biz -- is that old-fashioned, in-depth investigative reporting will also eventually disappear in favor of more instantaneous and impulsive, but lightweight and not always factually correct news blurbs and tweets.
The demise of hard-copy newspapers is a central element in "State of Play," but the dramatic thriller from director Kevin Macdonald has more up its sleeve than just that. Throw in a congressional sex scandal tinged with murder (think Gary Condit and Chandra Levy) as well as a private contractor made up of former soldiers now doing military and security ops here and abroad (Blackwater, anyone?) and the result is a decently made and mostly engrossing flick that marries old school storytelling with more up-to-date sensibilities. While not perfect and containing perhaps too many twists and a few narrative and/or logistical problems, it's still a satisfying ride.
There's nothing here you haven't really seen before -- especially if you caught the original BBC miniseries on which this is based (I didn't) -- but Macdonald and his trio of screenwriters -- Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy and Billy Ray -- get decent mileage out of the recycled and reconfigured material, and they certainly keep things moving at a good and nearly always engaging clip.
What makes it work so well, however, is the presence of and performance by Russell Crowe. Once again proving he's one of the best actors working today, Crowe effortlessly becomes his character, and the fact that his is a flawed soul only makes him that much more interesting to watch.
If there's one striking flaw, it's that we're supposed to believe that he and Ben Affleck (as a former soldier turned Congressman whose aide-turned-lover has just ended up dead, conveniently when he's grilling the military contractor in a congressional hearing) were college roommates back in the day.
Perhaps Affleck was a boy wonder or Crowe was a late bloomer in terms of post high school studies, but the visible age difference is a bit problematic, and that somewhat taints their interaction, exchanges, and the subplot of their past and present related to Robin Wright Penn's character (married to the Congressman, but with a fling with the reporter sometime in the past). Affleck is okay but not great in the role that needs more oomph and shades of gray to make it really work and pay off.
While the likes of Jeff Daniels and Helen Mirren are pretty much wasted (he as the Majority Whip, she as the tart-tongued editor doing the usual "we have to meet our deadline" newspaper boss bit), Jason Bateman steals his scenes as a somewhat flamboyant PR man targeted for information extraction by the seasoned reporter. Rachel McAdams (who still makes me think she's Parker Posey's kid sister) is also good as the newspaper blogger who ends up teamed with the vet to get to the bottom of all of the murder and apparent conspiracy.
Certainly timely in multiple ways, the film might not be novel in its underlying plot or the way in which the story is told and unfolds. And it might just have too many surprise revelations that quickly start piling up at the end (perhaps they felt more natural, if they existed as they do here, in the mini-series where they'd have more time and space to unfold).
Yet, thanks to the efforts of the cast (especially Crowe) and crew, "State of Play" ends up being a fairly engrossing and occasionally riveting experience, not to mention perhaps a cinematic adieu to old school newspapers, their reporting, and movies about just that. The film rates as a 6.5 out of 10.
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