The Play's No Great Thing

This weekend, I caught the new "thriller" State of Play. I must use the word "thriller" in quotes, because I didn't find it all that thrilling.

It's a plot we've seen in many other movies, the tale of an investigative journalist in pursuit of a major conspiracy story. The only new thing this movie brings to the party is the reality of the present day -- several times, it name checks the fact the newspapers are in decline in this age of the internet, in real financial trouble. Other than that, the movie plays rather like the current season of 24, minus most of the action.

It's possible the relative lack of interesting drama and suspense is the result of adaptation from the source material. I didn't know it going into the theater, but learned later that State of Play is based on a 6-episode BBC television series of the same name. (Starring John Simm, of Life on Mars fame, no less!) Perhaps paradoxically, this movie has only a third of the total running time, but feels just as long at times. The machinations of the conspiracy simply couldn't be distilled, so a fair amount of what remains is tedious exposition that isn't particularly entertaining or easy to track.

But what is commendable about the film is an all-star cast. I don't tend to think much of Russell Crowe, but he does fine enough here. (As a fellow Crowe-hater said to me, "I didn't want to punch him in the face." High praise, considering, which I generally echo myself.) Ben Affleck makes an unlikeable congressman sympathetic. Robin Wright Penn does a lot with the tiny role of his wife. Rachel McAdams plays a young and eager journalist with deft skill. Helen Mirren is actually very, very funny as the editor of the newspaper. And Jason Bateman rocks in a brief, 10-minute role.

Ultimately, it is those performances that make this rather paint-by-numbers movie possibly worth seeing. But then again, you probably aren't missing much if you don't. I rate it a C+.