Newspaper Movie: State of Play

19 Dec

As a newspaper obsessive, I’ve been compiling a list of films set in newspapers, you can find the others here. If you have a newspaper-related movie to recommend, that I’ve missed, please let me know.

STATE OF PLAY (2009)

Rating: 4 stars
Newsroom quotient: 5
Rolling presses vibe: 4
Newspaper featured: the fictional Washington Globe
Newsroom used for filming: filmed on a set styled on The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun newsrooms
Running time: 127 minutes

Before we get going, let's get something out of the way. Yes, Russell Crowe's Cal McCaffrey neatly fits the stereotype of the middle-aged, grouchy, grizzled reporter, but this a stereotype for a reason. If we're honest McCaffrey is just the sort of reporter we love to love, and Russell Crowe does it well, very well.

So, on with the plot. A thief is shot and dies in a Washington back alley, a delivery driver who witnesses the crime is also shot and is in a coma. The following morning, Sonya Baker, a researcher for a US Congressman, is hit by a metro train which is initially thought to be suicide. You know, I know, we all know, that if there are three deaths in the first five minutes of a movie there's probably connection and so there is here.

Crowe's, better-looking, college roommate is Congressman Stephen Collins, played by Ben Affleck. Sonya Baker was working for Collins, and it transpires they were also having an affair. Rachel McAdams our favourite, 'not-grizzled' reporter (see Spotlight), plays Della Frye, an online reporter and blogger for The Globe. Frye discovers there are just three spots on the Washington metro not covered by CCTV and Sonya Baker was hit by the train in one of them. After a period where McCaffrey grumbles about blogging and reporting that isn’t in print, they team up and start working together.

The Congressman is investigating PointCorp an international private defence contractor that works for the US Government. PointCorp has plans to effectively privatise US defence at home and overseas. They stand to lose billions of dollars if their business tactics are revealed and don't relish the idea of Collins digging too deeply into their activities.

I don't want to give too much away, but suffice to say McCaffrey and Frye go on to investigate both the murders and the work of PointCorp. The whole thing kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams, in particular, turn-in believable understated performances, which I really enjoyed. I could happily watch it over again.

State of Play is based on an excellent 2003 BBC tv series of the same name.

As always, let's be careful out there.

State of Play movie poster