State Of Play (Film)

STATE OF PLAY
Dir: Kevin MacDonald
U.S.A/France/U.K, 2009
11/05/09


Adapted from the much loved and praised BBC television series of the same name written by Paul Abbott, State of Play is the latest Hollywood movie to be morphed into a Russell Crowe vehicle at his addition to the film (his role was originally intended for Brad Pitt). The Story follows Cal McAffrey, a reporter for a Washington newspaper as he looks into the murder of a black youth and attempted murder of a pizza delivery man. It coincides with the death of a young researcher who worked for Cal’s old friend Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), now a Senator. Stephen asks Cal for help and as he looks into both cases with headstrong young blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), the two cases converge and point to a terrifying conspiracy.

The transference of the story from England to America is done quite well, but somewhere in the screenplay the whole focus of what the series was about got lost. In it’s original form it was very much a two hander between John Simm playing the reporter and David Morrissey as the politician, but here it is Russell Crowe’s film, as he puts on weight, grows his hair and takes up most the screen time in a film which creates the façade of being better then it is.

The plot looses much as it condensed from six hours to two, and cracks appear where before they weren’t noticed. The relationship between Cal and Anne Collins (Robin Wright Penn) is inferred as having already happened instead of developing through the film which means there is less intensity between the characters. The reporting which was detailed fantastically in the series is here just going from point A to point B with no real investigation. In fact the main clue that leads Crowe to the final conclusion is discarded by him earlier in the film whereas if he paid attention when he first got it lives could have been saved, an unfortunate backlash of trying to find a way to condense the clues and push the story forward quicker, and undermines one of the films claims to be a return to good ol‘ reporting ala Woodward and Bernstein.

Such quibbles would be unimportant in the context of most Hollywood thrillers but unfortunately State Of Play takes itself too seriously, and if it held my attention better it‘s shortcomings would have remained unnoticed, or simply wouldn‘t have bothered me. Humour is virtually non-existent and it thinks it has more to say then it actually does. The revelation that a company can have a monopoly on homeland security is interesting which makes it more of a shame when it foregoes the big conspiratorial payoff in favour of a more dramatic ending. The same can be said of the series, but there the main essence was the relationship between Cal and Stephen which meant the ending was moving and shocking whereas here, because the Stephen Collins character is pushed to the background it falls a little short of the potential offered by the conspiracy, which is why Macdonald shouldn’t give it as much importance as he does (and therefore the plot ends up feeling more like a rehash of the dire They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (Gordon Douglas, U.S.A, 1970) then of the State Of Play television series).

Even though Ben Affleck’s role is greatly diminished, he is still the one with the more emotional role as his mistress has been murdered, he’s estranged from his wife who had an affair with his best friend and he is on the cusp of a massive corporate takedown. Yet all this is lost on Affleck who seems to wander around in a daze and in the end scene especially is a bit flat. Crowe is fine when he’s running around doing reporter stuff and the only emoting he has to do is in scenes where he decides if the story is bigger then his friendship, in which he expresses this moral conundrum by gazing into space looking like someone’s just eaten his bacon sandwich. Helen Mirren is fine as the ball-busting editor who’s only there to threaten Crowe with his job in order to add potential consequences for failure but it’s not much of a stretch for someone of her calibre (plus Bill Nighy, who‘s role she usurped from the series was not only as threatening, but immensely funny). The only real stand out performance is Rachel McAdams as Cal’s reluctant partner, but since Crowe wants to be seen as the great reporter, her character seems pointless to the story as she doesn’t really do anything.

Macdonald’s direction, whilst perfectly competent sometimes seems unsure. Throughout most the film the killer is shown as your typical psychopath; he has a distant stare, blank face and a scar next to his left eye, yet at the end tries a half-hearted attempt to present him as someone with a mental illness in order to make the film seem more mature, in which case it’s quite insensitive for Macdonald to spend the whole film painting him as a psychotic nutter. Also attempts at action are made such as a scene where Cal is chased by the killer in a garage but even this lacks the tension of the Hotel scene in the series which no doubt could have been done rather well if Macdonald had chosen to use it. There’s also an overuse of montage on the scenes of plot exposition which can leave one unsure of what is going on

It is by no means bad but I think if it wasn’t for the engrossing nature of the cinema I would have been quite bored. As American adaptations go, it’s deeply respectful of the original as most the scenes are lifted entirely, but it’s too self-important and sadly empty because of the lack of the a complex driving relationship. It zips along at a good pace, and Macdonald is a good director, it’s problem is not stylistic but that throws weight around it doesn’t have.

There are worse films to be seen at the cinema, and this is a worthwhile way to pass two hours with a mindless little a thriller, just don’t go in expecting something as intelligent, thoughtful and well constructed as the television series, which I bought on DVD for less then it cost me to see this film, and I would highly recommend that. State of Play U.S.A is worth it’s ticket price, but it isn’t a bargain.