2009 Rewind: State of Play

 


This year films from 2009 are celebrating a 15th Anniversary. I will be looking at five films from 2009 that I've enjoyed as part of an anniversary celebration. Today, I'm looking at State of Play.

Rep. Stephen Collins: Am I talking to my friend now or am I talking to a reporter?
Cal McAffrey: I gotta be both.

State of Play
Starring: Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright, Jason Bateman, and Jeff Daniels
Director: Kevin Macdonald
About: A murder on the street, a dead Congressional aide, a Congressman on the rise, a young online reporter, and a grizzled veteran reporter all are brought together. These are the elements in play for this film, which I loved. It's got a great cast and an intriguing premise. If you've followed me for any length of time, you know that I love journalism films. This is one of the journalism films that have always stuck out to me. I like the arc of the story here and the rich performances. This isn't the only time McAdams has played a reporter, but she does a nice job here. I also enjoy the back-and-forth with Crowe and Affleck. Mirren is solid as the grizzled editor. The story pulls me in and I enjoy the execution. This was based on a British TV series of the same name, but I enjoyed the execution of this one a little better. This wasn't a wildly popular film but even 15 years later it holds up well. It remains one of my favorites released that year.

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