"State of Play" Enjoyable, But Missed Opportunity

Normally, I try to go into every film with an open and bias-free mind, but sometimes, I just cannot help it. I can't walk into a showing of "The Dark Knight" with the same mindset as, say, "Hannah Montana: The Movie." Let's face it: I'm never going to be excited for a musical romp featuring Miley Cyrus and Tyra Banks. Likewise, I could not try to act like I was not pumped for "State of Play," a twisty political thriller featuring a stellar cast of actors, directors and writers. Unfortunately, the movie does not quite reach its potential. I am not saying the film is bad; I just cannot help feeling that underneath the good movie I saw was a great one wanting to break free.Without giving too much away, the story, adapted from a BBC (British Broadcasting Company) miniseries, follows a crafty newspaper writer played by Russell Crowe who gets fully immersed into a political debacle involving an up-and-coming congressman and his murdering lead researcher. In case murder is not a big enough story, the story is leaked that the congressman and the researcher were having an affair. Crowe, who has personal connections to the political figure, digs dangerously deep to find out the real truth. Meanwhile, his paper's political blogger, portrayed by Rachel McAdams, and the lead editor, an entertaining Helen Mirren, help to get the whole story, preferably before any of the other newspapers do.

On paper, the plot sounds confusing, and sometimes during the film it is, but the film never loses the audience's interest. The story constantly twists, turns and provides the viewer with new and compelling plot points to keep one interested. In addition, the film plays like a loving ode to the fading newspaper industry, featuring numerous jabs at the supposed 'news' on Internet blogs and a sequence showing a big story getting printed. As someone who obviously is quite attached to the newspaper business and is witnessing the de-evolution of news writing and reporting, I could not help but find the elements intriguing.

Outside of the BBC miniseries, the film was written by three different writers who each contribute an element of their personal writing styles to the film. Billy Ray, who wrote and directed the fantastic "Shattered Glass" and "Breach," brings the detailed procedural aspect to the film. Tony Gilroy, writer of "Michael Clayton," brings his knowledge of politics, law and crazy plots, and "The Kingdom" writer Matthew Michael Carnahan, unfortunately, brings his lack of subtlety and more Hollywood-ized style. As a result, while certain moments feel fresh, smart and intense, others feel cliché, idiotic and contrived.

Unfortunately, these moments are the main reason why "State of Play" never reaches the greatness it has the potential to be. Everything else in the film is executed so well and intelligently that the dumb parts stick out even more. The performances, for example, are uniformly great. Yes, even Ben Affleck! Jason Bateman and Oscar nominee Viola Davis also show up to provide even more acting prowess to the movie. In addition, the direction by Kevin Macdonald, whose previous works include the Oscar-winning "The Last King of Scotland," doesn't try to show-up his actors with anything too flashy and keeps the action and intensity coming at a fast rate.

"State of Play" is a very intense, exciting and mostly smart piece of entertainment, but unfortunately, that's it. With the great performances, intriguing plot elements and first-rate workers behind the scenes, I really wanted to walk out of the theatre raving about "State of Play" to everyone I knew. In reality, I walked out of the theatre only semi-satisfied, and when people ask, instead of raving, I can only say that it was good.

3.5/5 stars