State of Play (2009)
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A journalist's investigation into the suspicious death of a Congressional aide's mistress uncovers a web of political corruption and corporate secrets.
The story
In Washington, D.C., journalist Cal McAffrey begins a probe into the suspicious death of Sonia Baker, the assistant and mistress of Congressman Stephen Collins. Sonia was the chief researcher for Collins on a committee investigating private defense contractors, specifically a company named PointCorp. While Collins claims Sonia was not suicidal, Cal's investigation leads him to discover covert photographs and a gun. As Cal navigates the complex relationship between the politician and the press, he seeks to uncover whether PointCorp orchestrated the killing to maintain its monopoly on government defense and security contracts.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Washington, D.C., a man kills a thief, and a witness is left in a coma. The next morning, Congressional aide Sonia Baker is killed by a Metro train. Sonia was the chief researcher for Congressman Stephen Collins, who is investigating private defense contractors like PointCorp. Collins tells journalist Cal McAffrey that he was having an affair with Sonia and believes she wasn't suicidal. Cal's recruit, Della Frye, finds CCTV footage, while Cal discovers items from a stolen bag including covert photos of Sonia and a gun. A witness is later killed by a sniper. Cal learns PointCorp seeks a monopoly on defense contracts. An insider gives Cal a contact who is eventually identified as Dominic Foy, a PR executive at a PointCorp subsidiary. Dominic reveals Sonia was being paid to spy on Collins for PointCorp but fell in love and became pregnant; she was killed for refusing to continue spying. Cal confronts Collins, who admits he asked a veteran named Robert Bingham to follow Sonia. Cal realizes Bingham killed her because Collins became suspicious. Collins admits he never asked for her death but his actions led to four deaths. As the police arrive to arrest Collins, Bingham attempts to kill Cal but is shot by police. Cal has Della publish the story of the Congressman's arrest.
- First release year
- 2009
- Runtime (minutes)
- 127
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States; France
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kevin Macdonald
- Writers
- Matthew Michael Carnahan · screenplay; Tony Gilroy · screenplay; Billy Ray · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Russell Crowe · Cal McAffrey; Ben Affleck · Rep. Stephen Collins; Rachel McAdams · Della Frye; Helen Mirren · Cameron Lynne; Robin Wright · Anne Collins; Jason Bateman · Dominic Foy; Jeff Daniels · Rep. George Fergus; Harry Lennix · Det. Donald Bell
- Genres
- political thriller; drama
- Themes
- journalistic independence; privatization of security; political corruption; relationship between politicians and the press
- Tone and mood
- taut; political; thriller
- Premise and plot tags
- political thriller; investigative journalism; corporate espionage
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2003 British television serial
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was described as a taut, well-acted political thriller with an intelligent script.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 64 · scale: 100 · review count: 36
- Production trivia
- The production employed real-world journalists like Bob Woodward as extras.; The film was influenced by 1970s cinema, specifically All the President's Men.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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