The MovieSite — State of Play

State of Play

Find The Truth

Based on a 6-part BBC series, shrunk down to two hours and moved to the US, this political thriller follows two journalists as they investigate a few inter-connected murders. A particular congressman is key to their work, but behind the scenes a powerful corporation with ties to the military becomes more and more a problem as the reporters get closer to unravelling the mystery.

128 minutes, No persons under 13 (Language, Violence)
Detective/Mystery, Drama, Thriller.

Credits

Cast

Russel Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, Michael Berresse, Harry Lennix

Director

Kevin Macdonald

Screenplay

Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, Billy Ray, from the TV series by Paul Abbott

Music

Alex Heffes

Cinematography

Rodrigo Prieto

Editing

Justine Wright

Sound formats

Dolby Digital, Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, DTS

Soundtrack

Not available

Made in

2009

Produced by

Andell Entertainment, Bevan-Fellner, Relativity Media, Studio Canal, Universal Pictures, Working Title Films

SA Distributor

UIP

FPB Report (SA)
Genre	Crime, drama
Language	Moderate strength and frequency
Nudity	None
Sex	Mild sexual references and innuendo
Violence	Intermittent, implied, impactful and realistic
Prejudice	None
Blasphemy	Some blasphemy, occasional
Drug abuse	Alcohol and tobacco, infrequent
Comments	This movie has mature themes and is fairly complex, although fascinating. It has a sense of threat and menace and is suspenseful throughout.
These details are supplied by the FPB. If you have a problem with any of the above, please take it up directly with the FPB. Read the Classification Guidelines.

ScreenIt Report (USA)

Sex / Nudity

Violence

Blood / Gore / Gross

Guns /
Weapons

Profanity

Alcohol / Drugs

Smoking

Disrespectful /
Bad Attitude

Imitative Behaviour

Frightening /
Tense Scenes

Jump Scenes

Tense Family Scenes

Music (Scary/Tense)

Music (Inappropriate)

Topics to talk about

Ratings

Scale (Max)

South African Media

Cape Argus/The StarTheresa Smith

Die BurgerLaetitia Pople

Cape TimesBetsy Sharkey

iAfrica.comNils van der Linden A breathless whodunit that turns the drudgery of news reporting into genuine excitement.

The CitizenPeter Feldman

24.comShaheema Barodien

International Media

Chicago Sunday TimesRoger Ebert The thing is, though, that the movie never quite attains altitude. It has a great takeoff, levels nicely, and then seems to land on autopilot. Maybe it's the problem of resolving so much plot in a finite length of time, but it seems a little too facile toward the end. Questions are answered, relationships revealed and mysteries solved too smoothly.

eye Weekly (Canada)Adam Nayman McDonald wants to reignite our faith in the written word as a force for truth, but his earnest belief in printing truth to power is tiresome considering the contrivances of the narrative.

Rolling Stone (US)Peter Travers It sounds like a bloody mess, and sometimes it is. The kick here is what a gripping thriller Macdonald has carved out of unyielding stone.

ScreenIt (USA)C. Fuchs A fairly engrossing and occasionally riveting experience, not to mention perhaps a cinematic adieu to old school newspapers, their reporting, and movies about just that.

Metacritic.com36 critics

RottenTomatoes.com194 critics

RottenTomatoes.comTomatometer A taut, well-acted political thriller, State of Play overcomes some unsubtle plot twists with an intelligent script and swift direction.

Internet (IMDB)6526 Netizens A tense thriller with top-notch acting and writing

Average .. 65%

Trailer

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