by D Server

Created on: January 20, 2010

The film State of Play is a compelling drama that manages to combine several interconnected story lines. There is the basic story about a young woman who was mysteriously killed and apparently murdered. This part of the plot is connected to details of political corruption and influence, which is closely related to another storyline, which is war profiteering.There is also the story of  a newspaper trying to survive in a technological age which has left the printed page as a bit of a relic. The survival of a newspaper is also viewed through the tension caused by the paper's internet site, where the standards of instant journalism are apparently not up to the level the old time newspaper people would like.

The film's storyline is sometimes convoluted, overly complicated and occasionally hard to follow, but all is saved by the high quality work of the actors, particularly Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren and Rachel McAdams. Crowe, as Cal, the old-time print journalist who is not happy with the way economic realities have lowered the paper's  modern journalism standards. He is a powerful presence throughout the film, trying to get the facts of the murder, which aren't quite what he originally imagined. Helen Mirren plays the salty head of the newspaper-the Washington Globe-trying to juggle journalistic concerns with the paper's financial plight. Rachel McAdams plays Della, the younger writer at the newspaper who works on the internet blog. Originally, Cal has no patience for her and she appears to have little interest in his old ways of doing things. But it becomes clear that she wants to learn from him and improve the quality of her work. Cal soon  seems to admire her determination and effort.

Cal and Della also have sort of a grudging friendship which develops to the point which it seems on the verge of being a romance, but never quite gets there, at least by the end of the story (this is similar to The Lucky Ones, McAdams' Iraq veterans' film from the year before where she has a budding romance that is never quite realized.) The way that Cal and Della walk off together at the conclusion suggests something more could develop. But that is just one of the many subplots in State Of Play, which, thanks to the high quality of the actors (Ben Aflfleck, Jason Bateman and Robin Wright are also in the cast) is an enjoyable two hours.

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