State of Play (2009) is an old-school thriller with a modern edge. Kevin Macdonald adapts a well-received BBC miniseries into a solid film, a topical exploration of and congressional. Only a questionable climax prevents it from achieving greatness.Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) becomes the focus of scandal when his aide Sonia (Maria Thayer) dies in a suicide. Collins and Sonia were eloping, and the resultant scandal derails Collins' investigation of military contractor PointCorp. Washington Globe journalist Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe), Collins' longtime friend, thinks that PointCorp framed Collins. Web journalist Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) probes Collins' private life, which discourages Collins from cooperating. Cal and Della team up, discovering PointCorp's public activities are the tip of the iceberg.
Macdonald's direction is both detailed but fast-paced, covering ground with admirable aplomb. This isn't All the President's Men's slow-burn research; Macdonald turns reporting into fast-paced, vivid montage, calling source as gripping as a chase scene. Photographer Rodrigo Prieto prowls dark garages and corridors, characters dwarfed by monuments or skyscrapers, menaced by shadows. This climaxes in a tense parking garage shootout, with Cal fleeing an assassin (Jason Bateman) by latching onto a moving car.
State of Play's more tedious scenes bemoan print journalism's demise. The script (co-written by Tony Gilroy, Matthew Michael Carnahan and Billy Ray) critiques online reporting as shallow and sensationalist. They espouse shoe-leather reporting, with Cal giving a kiss-off line to the world's Drudge Reports. It's a hoary argument, no more convincing as movie than online rant. But Della's a diligent investigator, whose freshness provides a counterweight to Cal's cynicism. Their dynamic prevents the preaching from seeming completely one sided.
Plotwise, State of Play most resembles The Parallax View, albeit more modulated and credible in its paranoia. Afghanistan and Iraq prompted controversy over Blackwater and other contractors unaccountable to US authorities or international law. State of Play's storyline isn't a stretch: Cal discovers that PointCorp's not only exporting violence abroad, but privatizing Homeland Security and law enforcement functions. 2010s wags worry about government surveillance and drones, but unaccountable mercenaries policing America seems even more terrifying.This build-up results in a quizzical climax. (Spoiler alert, because we must.) We learn Congressman Collins is engineering the violent clean-up campaign, his goons murdering Sonia and other witnesses to shield him from PointCorp. This does stem organically from the story, yet it undermines much of the movie's message. Cal and Della still uncover an unsettling conspiracy, but our villain's a malfeasant do-gooder destroying his own credibility. While surprising, it seems a cheat.
Russell Crowe's gruff, diligent Cal makes a compelling Everyman reporter. Ben Affleck's equally well-cast as a straight-arrow congressman. Rachel McAdams provides solid support; a smart, engaging actress, she handles Della's predictable arc with skill. Helen Mirren's bitchy editor enlivens some exposition passages; Robin Wright gets a thankless role as Collins' wife. Jeff Daniels, Jason Bateman and Wendy Makenna handle supporting roles.
It's a shame that State of Play fumbles the ending, but it's neither the first nor last thriller hurt by a questionable twist. Other late 2000s thriller are either trapped by topicality (Syriana) or too convoluted to entertain (The International). State of Play achieves a nice balance, even if the journey's better than the destination.
