20:46:55 Wednesday 27 August 2025

State of Play

DVD OF THE WEEK

State of Play ****
Dir: Kevin MacDonald
Starring: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams

Those who watched the superb BBC series State of Play will no doubt be a little disappointed by this American-set adaptation; you do lose a lot of depth when condensing everything into a movie length chunk.
Having said that, director Kevin MacDonald continues the transition from documentaries (Touching the Void) with the same class he brought to The Last King of Scotland. Add in as good a turn as we've had from Our Russ in a while and some fine support casting and you have that rarest of things – an entertaining adult thriller that tells an engaging story without unnecessary gimmicks. It also has a nice subtext about the different styles of media, with Crowe's character possibly acting as a last hurrah for the fabled days of crusading investigative print journalism.
His old school journo, all stubble and paunch, is investigating a possible gangland shooting. Rookie colleague McAdams is investigating a congressman whose mistress has (apparently) committed suicide. The two stories quickly become one amongst a raft of possible conspiracies, and proceedings are complicated by an old friendship between Crowe and the congressman. It is only here that the film stumbles. Late casting changes gifted the film Ben Affleck instead of Edward Norton and although Affleck is fine he never seems on the same page as Crowe; it is hard to imagine them as old buddies.
But that's a minor complaint about a film that pushes nearly all the right buttons: it may not be perfect but it's a damn good way to spend a couple of hours.

Brian Cox rarely gets lead roles, despite being a charismatic and forceful support actor since the days when he played the very first incarnation of Hannibal Lektor in Michael Mann's Manhunter. But he carried low budget indie Red with great style earlier this year and is back as The Escapist (***) in this tough UK prison drama. Give the man an Oscar I say. He's great and the film, flashing between preparations and the taut gruelling escape, is as good a prison story as has emerged for some years. Joseph Fiennes finally loses his broody romantic sulk and impresses as a heavy, and only the film's late plot twist feels unnecessary – The Escapist is smart enough to play straight, without recourse to tricks. Good stuff.

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