State of Play, Blu-ray (2009)
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Jeff Daniels
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Studio: Universal 61106214 [Release date: Sept. 1, 09]
Video: 2.35:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 16:9 color 1080p HD
Audio: English DTS -HD Master Audio 5.1, DD 2.0, Spanish or French DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Extras: “The Making of State of Play,” Deleted scenes, U-Control: PIP, Washington D.C. Locations, BD Live: latest trailers and share favorite scenes
Length: 2 hours, 8 minutes
Rating: *****
An involving and suspenseful film for thinking adults. As George Goebel used to say, “Cain’t hardly find them no more.” The main subject seems to be political corruption and the power brokers making millions in profits off our various wars. But it also is about the struggle of big newspapers to stay alive. Russell Crowe plays a somewhat shabby journalist investigating the possible murder of the assistant to an up-and-coming politician played by Affleck, who also happens to have been his roommate in college. The journalist uncovers a conspiracy involving a giant private corporation which profits from handling most of the foreign war using mercenary soldiers. We all know what company the film is referring to.
Helen Mirren is the reporter’s boss at the newspaper, which is struggling under a new ownership interested only in the bottom line and not the best journalism. The reporter’s relationship with a young female cub reporter starts off on the wrong foot but grows into an important achievement for both of them. And there are plenty of dangers to both of them as they try to nail the conspiracy against a deadline set by the newspaper’s editor. Director Macdonald did The Last King of Scotland, and State of Play has some of the suspenseful situation of Michael Clayton. Ben Affleck is quite good as the politician but Russell Crowe captures the viewer’s interest from beginning to end in spite of his slovenly appearance and less than perfect demeanor.
The transfer of this smart thriller to Blu-ray looks perfect, and the lossless DTS soundtrack is effective in surround in several scenes. The gunman trying to shoot the reporter in the underground garage is an exceptional scene, and the twist at the end works well to dramatically cap the compelling story. The “documentary” footage at the end under the credits – showing the presses in operation and the newspapers being assembled and put on trucks for delivery is an ingenious and educational way to wrap up the story. Now that I have my Blu-ray player hooked to the Internet I can see even more movie previews than I’m already unilaterally exposed to on DVDs which make you view them before you get to the feature, and when I arrive early at theatrical showings. There were even previews of upcoming series on NBC-TV. I also can’t think of a soul I would want to share favorite scenes from the movie with online, but if these two things appeal to you, by all means hook your player up to the Internet for BD-Live.
– John Sunier
