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State of Play (2009)

PG-13  |   |  Crime, Drama, Mystery  |  17 April 2009 (USA)
7.1
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Ratings: 7.1/10 from 108,719 users   Metascore: 64/100
Reviews: 230 user | 250 critic | 36 from Metacritic.com

When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the congressman, his old college friend.

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Title: State of Play (2009)

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2 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Anne Collins (as Robin Wright Penn)
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PointCorp Insider
Sarah Lord ...
Mandi
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Storyline

A petty thief is gunned down in an alley and a Congressman's assistant falls in front of a subway - two seemingly unrelated deaths. But not to wisecracking, brash newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey who spies a conspiracy waiting to be uncovered. With a turbulent past connected to the Congressman and the aid of ambitious young rookie writer Della Frye, Cal begins uprooting clues that lead him to a corporate cover-up full of insiders, informants, and assassins. But as he draws closer to the truth, the relentless journalist must decide if it's worth risking his life and selling his soul to get the ultimate story. Written by The Massie Twins

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Who's telling the Lies? See more »


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence, language including sexual references, and brief drug content | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

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Language:

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Release Date:

17 April 2009 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Los secretos del poder  »

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$14,071,280 (USA) (17 April 2009)

Gross:

$36,965,395 (USA) (12 June 2009)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

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Color:

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2006 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year. See more »

Goofs

Before Della runs after Cal in one of the office scenes near the end, she is wearing the pen necklace he gave her. It was shown that she just got up and ran after him, but the next time we see her she is not wearing the pen necklace. See more »

Quotes

Rep. George Fergus: [to Cal] You are going to be out of a job even before the devil can even say your name... SON!
See more »

Crazy Credits

The printing process of a newspaper is shown as the ending credits start to show up. See more »

Connections

References Bambi (1942) See more »

Soundtracks

Long As I Can See The Light
Written by John Fogerty
Performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival
Courtesy of Universal Music Group International (United Kingdom)
Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
If you like thrillers...
20 April 2009 | by (United States) – See all my reviews

Crowe brings his A game (despite an occasional accent slip) to his role as a world-weary reporter with the newly purchased Washington Globe, helmed by Helen Mirren's very engaging take on Perry White/Katharine Graham. If you like thrillers you won't be disappointed in this pic that runs 2 hours and feels less than half of that. "State of Play" isn't perfect and the number of plot points that need to come together veritably dictate some implausibility at the end but if you compare this film to any five suspense-thrillers (at least Hollywood-made) that have come out in the past five years, you have to appreciate the whole package: Acting (and I disagree with the Ben Affleck naysayers here, he acquitted himself very well), character acting (Viola Thomas, Jason Batemen and Harry Lennix compete equally with a fraction of the time of the major players), interesting and gripping plot and story development, and overall believability all make this a first-rate film and one all involved should be proud of. The subtext of love and loss surrounding the non- entertainment print media also lends more than a little credibility and sympathy to the effort. I hope this film succeeds on a financial level and inspires at least one or two ambitious filmmakers to make movies in the same vein. Without doubt, there are too few genre pics of this caliber and State of Play shows it can be done well, even into the 21st century.


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