STATE OF PLAY

ENGLISH - (PG13) - 11 June 2009 - Thriller/Drama
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Running time: about 127 mins.
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Producers: Andrew Hauptman, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, Peter Morgan, Billy Ray
Casts: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels
Plot: Based on the BBC mini-series of the same title, a team of investigative reporters work alongside a police detective to try to solve the murder of a congressman's mistress. "State of Play" will explore issues in investigative journalism and the relationship between the press and political figures.

THE VERDICT:

Green Tea Bern says:

WARNING FOR SPOILER! Political thriller is always an intriguing mystery solving with twists on the plot and mind games at stack. State Of Play serves no differences than any other thrillers, a high stack of whether to believe or unbelieve, true or untrue, and white or grey. From the director of The Last King of Scotland, Kevin McDonald brought you another interesting movie to gulp at. From the critical acclaim British TV series, 6 hours of small screen adapted into a 2 hours silver screen, but still manage to get the excitement kicking.



The movie is about a high-rising congressman, Stephen Collins whom are responsible of heading a board of investigation against a company dealing with defenses and arms for the US military, involved in some form of conspiracy and capital power control. However, one of his aide, a woman believed to have an affair with him, was murdered in a freak accident, thus complicating the matter in hand. Now, his journalist friend from his college life, Cal McAffrey together with the new bubbly rookie journalist Della Frye will embark a route to discover the truth.

The plot is strong and it features a great deal of plot that ventures into the theme of journalism and investigation. It is a highly enjoyable trail although the tone of the movie is low, highlighting a little intriguing mind game and conceptual story that strongly focus on its accordance. The story will not be boring if you follow every clue and details carefully, but things still can get tangled up into confusion sometimes. Action is unsurprisingly minimal but the charismatic scenes are notable.

The role of journalism is very important for the story to evolve. What started as a simple tale to solve the mystery behind the death of a phenomenon key aide of Congressman , turns into a bubbly sensational hot gossip about their affair, and then finally evolve into something explosive. These are so typical for a thriller but the story-telling indeed is unique, portraying a story from multiple aspects and perceptions. what's more, expect more twists even right up until the end.

Russel Crowe and Ben Affleck are two household names. Seeing both working together in this movie is interesting especially with their friendship tainted with a dark history on them, nevertheless seems strong and compelling to each other. Adding into the star power would be Rachel McAdam and Helen Mirren, a respectable add-on name for the latter as an Oscar winner. The great thing about them is that although each character has their own purposes, the chemistry brought them together to work it all out.

If you are interested in some of these thrilling sensations inside this movie, I would recommend any Tom, Dick and Harry to watch it. In fact, this movie will not be a boring intake into the world of journalism, and adding into the credibility of those behind the productions.

THE RATINGS.....
CAST - 4.5 stars
STORY - 3.5 stars
CINEMATOGRAPHY - 3.5 stars
EFFECTS - 3.5 stars
an overall>> 3.5 stars
GreenTea-O-Meter: 15.2