State Of Play

Genre: Drama

Language: English

Director: Kevin MacDonald (The Last King of Scotland)

Cast: Rachel McAdams (The Family Stone), Jason Bateman (Hancock), Helen Mirren (Inkheart) Ben Affleck (He's Just Not That into You), Russell Crowe (Body of Lies)

Runtime: 127 Minutes

Official site: http://www.stateofplaymovie.net/

Plot:

Cal McCaffrey, an old-school-style journalist working for the Washington Globe. He begins to investigate the death of a young woman who was the research assistant and mistress of his friend Stephen Collins, an ambitious congressman whose career is likely ruined when his affair is revealed. Joined by young political blogger Della Frye, Cal races against time and deadlines to solve the murder, which may be only a small part of a much larger crime.

Watched the movie on 7 June afternoon @ Cathay Cineleisure with Sylvia.

Seen this movie trailer several months back and wasn't really expecting a lot from this movie. Thought Russell Crowe was a detective from the trailer. But not, he was a journalist, who covered homicides stories. Although I didn't really like his appearance - long hair and shabby outfit, he convinced me he was a real reporter, the brilliant dialog throughout the movie and his no-frills acting skills, a pro actor.

I like how the director handled the detail of telling the story to the audiences. Russell Crowe the veteran giving the newbie - Rachel McAdams, guidance to the bottom of the truth. On top of that, the bossy Dowager portrayed by Helen Mirren, added icing to the cake, loved these combination. True excellent performance.

Although the movie was more than 2 hours long, I do not feel draggy at all. There were thrills, tension and drama. I especially liked the ending part whereby the final truth was published and newspapers were printing in process together with the actors credits. I thought this part could have been at the beginning of the film but it was even better at the end of the movie.

ah-deng says: 4½ / 5 Behind politics, there are a lot of conspiracy. Behind every news report, is there truth?