State of Play (PG-13) A-
Journalism at its best
Starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, and Helen Mirren
After watching the movie Twister in 1996, a friend told me that she was inspired to become a "Storm Chaser". After seeing State of Play a few days ago I found myself daydreaming about being a reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper. Then I remembered that no one reads the paper and print journalism is a dying breed... but still, this film does for journalism what ER (the television show) did for the medical profession– provides the illusion of nonstop excitement, drama and intrigue.
I read that State of Play is loosely based on a BBC television series of the same name and was originally cast with Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. Those two actors backed out but the star laden cast of Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels, Jason Bateman, and (cameo by) Viola Davis provided more than enough star power for this savvy and well-scripted film.
This political thriller explores the question of ethical, honest and factual journalism, as well as the indispensable importance of print newspapers in our society. State of Play has plenty of twist, turns, and headlines that rival modern day political scandals- sex, corruption, murder, etc... and there's even a fair share of well executed clichés: the seasoned, burnt-out reporter type with friends in all the right places, hesitantly matched with an eager and fresh-faced newbie. The angry and demanding editor, the pesky police, and the young politician that’s as sleazy as he is good looking.
But it all comes together brillantly. I liked this film and who would have thought that Ben Affleck would star in two of my favorite films of 2009 so far... Perhaps now I can forget about Armageddon.
No comments:
Post a Comment