State of Play Movie 2009 | Key Facts & Characters & Ending Explained
State of Play Movie 2009 tells the story of an old grizzled reporter, Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), investigates the accidental death (or was it suicide) of his college friend’s mistress. His college friend is Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), and the mistress, Sonia Baker, is the lead research assistant in his investigation of PointCorp. Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) is the eager young reporter that works with McAffrey. The publisher of the “Washington Globe” is a British woman named Cameron (Helen Mirren). Collins’ wife, Anne (Robin Wright), was also an old college friend of McAffrey and had had an affair with him while married to Collins.
The movie starts with great chase sequence through the nighttime city streets with a guy fleeing from something or someone, pushing people out of his way, stampeding through stores, being ‘hit’ by a car and realistically colliding with a cyclist … before finally meeting his maker. The cold-blooded shooting of the pizza delivery guy, who accidentally witnessed the murder, set the stage for a great action packed, compelling thriller.
The fact that Cal had an affair of his own with Stephen’s patient wife, Anne (Robin Wright), is one of the movie’s early surprises. Cal’s shame about it makes him want to support his friend, making him oblivious to Stephen’s deception. Cal’s editor (Helen Mirren) even mentions his odd loyalty to his college buddy, pointing out that Cal has pushed positive articles about the congressman for years. In the end, Della is correct when she worries that Cal’s friendship with the congressman jeopardizes their narrative and that Stephen is (indirectly) to blame for Sonia’s passing.
The true villain? PointCorp who has a monopoly on government surveillance and defense contracts/ They’ve used the Patriot Act to privatize American security and now look to get even richer from mercenary activities in the Middle East and even within the united states.
Characters
- Cal (Crowe) and Stephen (Affleck) were roommates in college and remained friends in adulthood, when Cal became a star investigative reporter for a Washington newspaper, while Stephen, after a stunt in the Army, became something of a political figure.
- Russel Crowe is fine as one journalist, Rachel McAdam is superb as his younger associate. Ben Affleck is his usual stoic self, though it works in this role. Helen Mirren is shrill – too shrill – in her role as the newspaper’s managing editor. For fans of Robin Wright – and there are many – she’s fine as the wife of the Affleck character; thrown over for someone younger.
- The two also share a common interest in Stephen’s wife, Anne (Wright), an unnecessary side plot. However, their friendship will be put to test by something more than trivial adultery, when Sonia, Stephen’s young and attractive aide ends up dead on the subway.
- Excellent cast, solid acting, and a very well done political thriller with a couple of shocking late twists. Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams are excellent as a pair of mismatched reporters, one old school and one blogger, who find themselves working two different angles of an investigative story on the death of a Congressional aide. When two seemingly random deaths are linked, it sets off a chain of events with political and personal implications. The film was well-paced, from it’s frenetic opening sequence straight through to its twisted and surprising conclusion.
Ending Explained
Ultimately, Stephen acknowledges to Cal that he played a minor role in Sonia’s demise. The golden-boy politician is obviously confident in his own morality and comes out as a conscientious and upright opponent of PointCorp. Despite the affair and Sonia’s passing, Stephen continues to believe that his efforts to combat corporate evil justify any personal shortcomings he may have. However, Cal finds fault with Stephen’s explanations for his behavior, and the congressman is ultimately taken into custody.
State of Play Movie 2009 | Reviews
IMDB score is 7.1 ( I rated it 5 personally)
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State of Play Movie 2009 Trailer
