State of Play

2009 • 127 minutes

About this movie

Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast, including Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams & Helen Mirren in the gripping thriller about deception, manipulation & corruption. When D.C. Reporter Cal McCaffrey (Russell Crowe) is assigned to investigate the murder of an assistant to an up-and-coming politician (Ben Affleck), he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to bring down the nation's power structures. In a town of spin-doctors and wealthy power brokers, he will discover one truth: when fortunes are at stake, no one's integrity, love or life is safe. From director Kevin Macdonald of The Last King of Scotland, State of Play brings together strong performances, riveting suspense and is "sophisticated, intelligent and powerful" (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV).

Ratings and reviews

Imperfect thriller. Good cast, reasonable plot with a bit of a muddled third act. Ends up being a good match but a touch shallow.

Worth a watch while you're doing the ironing but not truly engaging. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Russell Crowe back to his best ... superb political thriller.