State of Play

Although Kevin Macdonald's thriller was based on a BBC miniseries, it calls to mind any one of a dozen newspaper movies made by Hollywood studios in the 1930s. Certainly there's nothing new about State of Play's plot, which revolves around the murder of a comely female aide to a powerful, philandering politician. And it's by no means dazzlingly original to have the crime investigated by a pair of newshounds, one a hardened veteran (Russell Crowe) with no respect for authority and the other a doe-eyed eager beaver (Rachel McAdams) who issues periodic warnings about the impropriety of their law-skirting tactics. Cast perfectly to type as the adulterous congressman is Ben Affleck, whose character becomes embroiled in scandal just as he's publicly putting the screws to a Blackwater-like defense contractor. Helen Mirren's gender reversal casting as a hardboiled editor is State of Play's one deviation from long-established formula. While the dialogue references numerous spicy off-screen interludes featuring participants such as Jason Bateman's acerbic, flamboyantly bisexual publicist, the muddled plot doesn't arouse much interest, especially after the initially prominent whodunit slant takes a backseat to political intrigue (the killer's identity is revealed almost as an afterthought). To the extent that State of Play is mildly entertaining, the credit belongs to the fine ensemble cast. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a 19-minute “making-of” featurette, four minutes of deleted scenes, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a picture-in-picture track with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, a “Washington, D.C. Locations” picture-in-picture track with historical insights and interactive graphics, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven thriller.] (E. Hulse)