“State of Play” thrills more than journalists

It is true that there are millions of movies in the world. It is also true that only a handful of these movies are capable of invoking a significant response from its viewers. “State of Play” is one such film where the audience is taken on a wild ride of journalistic proportions.

By Maddie Gillespie

Layout Editor

It is true that there are millions of movies in the world. It is also true that only a handful of these movies are capable of invoking a significant response from its viewers. “State of Play” is one such film where the audience is taken on a wild ride of journalistic proportions.

Actor Russell Crowe stars as Cal McAffrey, a seasoned newspaper reporter who stumbles upon one of the most intricate conspiracies possible in today’s world. Fellow reporter and “Cal’s assistant,” Della Frye, portrayed by actress Rachel McAdams, assists McAffrey in discovering the connection between McAffrey’s college friend, Pennsylvania congressman Stephen Collins, portrayed by Ben Affleck, and three recent brutal deaths.

McAffrey’s story assignment first leads him to cover the shooting of a simple street kid who steals people’s bags and the hospitalization of a pizza boy before his investigative skills link his story to the death of Collins’ young and beautiful aide, Sonia Baker. Baker is believed to have committed suicide, but as details emerge concerning the exact nature of Collins’ relationship with Baker, McAffrey begins to uncover pieces of a possible conspiracy surrounding PointCorp, a growing private financial superpower focusing in the area of military contracts.

This movie thrills its audience as it carries a strong sense of mystery, life-threatening danger, and moral ambiguity through dialogue and political intrigue. The level of thoroughness in this film displaying the political actions of a government official centered in a prolific media storm and the mindset of a reporter who is torn between his morals and his search for the ultimate story of his career will wow viewers.

“State of Play” shows audiences an investigator in a world where everything has transferred over to the digital age and there is no need for journalistic reporters because bloggers beat him to print at every turn. This point of view so accurately describes the state of journalism today, but manages to present audiences with the hope, or perhaps the simple nostalgia, of reading a pulse-pounding, eye-opening article in a printed newspaper.