NMR: State of Play

Since this is a newer release, I'll give it a post all to itself.

This is the political thriller that came and went fairly quickly from theaters back in April. That's a shame too because this is a very solid film supported by a very strong cast. The premise of the film is actually based on a BBC miniseries of the same name. Russell Crowe stars as a newspaper journalist who finds himself suddenly covering the story of the death of the aide to a congressman, played by Ben Affleck. Compounding the problem is the fact that Crowe and Affleck's characters were college roommates.

What follows that set-up is a very interesting film that delves into a lot of topics including war profiteering, fidelity, and the dying newspaper industry. The stuff related to journalism is probably the most fascinating stuff, particularly to someone like me who studies the media. Rachel McAdams co-stars as a blogger who works for the same newspaper as Crowe. Through these two characters we see the old and new guard of journalism. Crowe represents the reporter who holds onto a story as long as he can in order to get everything right, whereas McAdams' blogger is posting several stories a day online. Helen Mirren, giving a typically great performance plays the editor who tries to deal with both sides. She has the journalistic integrity to side with Crowe but is feeling pressure to remain relevant from her corporate bosses.

While the believablity of Crowe and Affleck being college roommates is questionable, the two do well with their roles and have some good scenes together. The two, needless to say have a complicated relationship, which is compounded by the fact that Crowe may still be in love with Affleck's wife. I should also mention that Jeff Daniels and Jason Bateman show up for smaller roles, but still do the most with these thankless roles.

My lone criticism of the film comes from the fact that they deliver about one twist too many. As the film progresses more and more gets revealed about who really is behind the death of this young woman. If they would have just stuck with their themes more instead of trying to constantly swerve the audience, this could have easily been a best picture nominee. Instead, it's merely a very good thriller that is definitely worth a rental. Grade/Rating: B+/****