State of Play Review

Director Kevin Macdonald's adaptation of the acclaimed BBC mini-series, "State of Play", has had a difficult journey from script to screen, most notably with the walkout from Brad Pitt who was signed to play gruff journalist Cal McAffrey. With only a week to find a replacement, Russell Crowe came in to fill Pitt's shoes and the results beg the question: how could anyone else have possibly played this role?

Crowe's turn as the old-fashioned, workaholic hack provides the centrepiece of a relentlessly fast-paced thriller. The film begins with two seemingly unrelated murders that get the ball rolling. As the grizzled McAffrey begins prying into one, his journalistic nose smells a link with the other thereby unravelling a web of conspiracy entangling his former college roommate and rising U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck).

McAffrey is joined on his investigative work by sprightly young blogger, Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), and together the unlikely duo begin working against the clock - and against the interests of some powerful enemies - to get to the bottom of a crime that is mouth-wateringly well-connected.

"State of Play" raises several big questions about the future of the ailing print journalism industry, the amorality of the media and politicians, and the danger of privatising national security. That is also, however, the biggest criticism of Macdonald's film; in trying to condense a six-hour series into a feature length film, his treatment of some of these issues can seem quite rudimentary.

Yet, it is Crowe's performance that makes this film so consistently engaging. Combining the restless intensity of a desperate journalist with the haphazard unwashed persona of a man whose personal life is a mess, Crowe appears perfectly cast for Cal McAffrey. Meanwhile, McAdams shows she is not only disarmingly beautiful but has the talent to boot in her role as McAffrey's colleague.

Helen Mirren, who plays sour-faced newspaper editor, Cameron Lynne, provides plenty of sarcastic shouting, but little else, while Ben Affleck proves unconvincing in his role as an unfaithful politician.

Still, this film is a tightly constructed, intelligent piece of work with Crowe adding the star quality that makes it so gripping.