State of Play PG-13

Find the Truth
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Format:  DVD
item number:  36CSX
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DVD Details

  • Rated: PG-13
  • Run Time: 2 hours, 8 minutes
  • Video: Color
  • Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
  • Released: September 1, 2009
  • Originally Released: 2009
  • Label: Universal Studios

Performers, Cast and Crew:

Starring &
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Directed by
Screenwriting by , &
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Director of Photography:
Executive Production by &

Entertainment Reviews:

Certified Fresh84%

TOMATOMETER
Total Count: 213

Upright73%

AUDIENCE SCORE
User Ratings: 124,281
4 stars out of 4 -- This is a smart script...[with] a wealth of twists...
Premiere
Apr 16, 2009
Rating: 4/5 -- Journalistic ethics and the scandalous nature of politics are featured in the taut conspiracy thriller, State of Play. Full Review
Matt's Movie Reviews
Aug 3, 2010
[T]his efficient, admirably coherent thriller about reporters digging down to where politics and murder meet in Washington, D.C., has a wistful air about it...
Variety
Apr 13, 2009
I know it sounds like I'm trashing this movie, but the story has real juice and complexity, the performances have muscle, and the political backdrop is ripped from the headlines. I wasn't bored for a second. Full Review
Maclean's Magazine
Jan 2, 2018
Rating: 3.5/4 -- A fine example of what studio filmmaking should be. Full Review
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Jun 5, 2019
Rating: 4/5 -- It's really a story about the romance of newspapers and a good one - part of a tradition that goes all the way back to Ben Hecht and The Front Page. It may also mark the genre's end. Full Review
Sydney Morning Herald
May 31, 2009
Macdonald and his cast shepherd STATE OF PLAY through a number of surprising twists and turns... -- Grade: B-
A.V. Club
Apr 16, 2009

Product Description:

Director Kevin Macdonald moves from documentaries and the Idi Amin drama THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND to this fictional thriller that feels all too real at times. Based on the BBC miniseries of the same name, STATE OF PLAY stars Russell Crowe as Cal McCaffrey, an old-school-style journalist working for the Washington Globe. He begins to investigate the death of a young woman who was the research assistant and mistress of his friend Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), an ambitious congressman whose career is likely ruined when his affair is revealed. Joined by young political blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), Cal races against time and deadlines to solve the murder, which may be only a small part of a much larger crime.

Like ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, STATE OF PLAY is a thought-provoking thriller that manages to be both timely and timeless. It reflects its 2009 release date with a plot that questions the validity and existence of newspapers in the face of bloggers and the 24-hour news cycle, as well as addressing the efforts of a Blackwater-like group working in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Macdonald’s film should also age remarkably well; Crowe’s Cal must reconcile his personal life with his professional one, and ethics lie at the heart of the movie. Crowe gives a get-noticed performance in the middle of a packed cast that also includes Affleck, McAdams, Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels, and Robin Wright Penn. Jason Bateman steals scenes--and adds a bit of much-needed comic relief--in his small part in the film.

Product Description:

Academy Award®-winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast, including Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams & Helen Mirren in the blistering thriller about deception, manipulation & corruption.
When D.C. Reporter Cal McCaffrey (Crowe) is assigned to investigate the murder of an assistant to an up-and-coming politician (Affleck), he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to bring down the nation’s power structures. In a town of spin-doctors and wealthy power brokers, he will discover one truth: when fortunes are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is safe.
From director Kevin Macdonald of The Last King of Scotland, State of Play brings together gripping performances, riveting suspense and is “sophisticated, intelligent and powerful” (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV).

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Product Info

  • UPC: 025195040075
  • Shipping Weight: 0.25/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 1 item

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