Though he’s likely best known for directing the last two (and next two) Harry Potter films, British director David Yates began his career helming several excellent BBC television programs. These include the 2005 made-for-TV movie The Girl in the Cafe (a minor favorite here at the Video Station) and 2004’s Sex Traffic, a drama about women forced into prostitution in the West. In 2003 he directed all 6 episodes of the thriller miniseries State of Play, about a group of journalists investigating the death of an MP’s young research assistant and the seemingly unrelated murder of a junkie in London. A tense and intricate mystery, the BBC production culminates in the unraveling of a sinister political conspiracy by civilian investigators putting their lives on the line for a good story. The series has had little exposure here in the States, so naturally it was ripe for a Hollywood remake.

The result is a compelling and fairly faithful adaptation of the 6-hour series, compressed into a 2 hour feature film. The characters are simplified and composited somewhat, but their roles and even their names are kept more or less the same. The story is abbreviated, of course, but it follows the same essential beats. Russell Crowe stars as Cal McAffrey, a veteran reporter working for a Washington Post-analog in D.C. His old college buddy Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), who has since become a congressman, is embroiled in a major press storm following the apparent suicide of one of his aides, with whom he was having a secret affair. Joining McAffrey in his delicate pursuit of the juicy story is upstart blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), who becomes his apprentice as the two uncover the bigger story underneath the obvious tabloid shenanigans. The relationship between the two characters highlights the most important distinguishing feature of the 2009 American version–it much more directly confronts the current crisis for the nation’s great newspapers and journalism as a whole. Crowe’s character, rather predictably, exemplifies the Bernstein and Woodward style of rebellious reporting, sporting a corduroy blazer and driving an old Saab to and from his cluttered cubicle and antiquated computer. McAdams is the eager but ultimately amateurish 21st Century internet gossiper, lacking the street-level contacts and savvy necessary to crack a shady conspiracy story. The supporting cast includes a superb turn by the more-often comedic Jason Bateman, whose dramatic performance here is worthy of an Oscar nomination.

This movie clearly aspires to be the spiritual successor to classic journalism films like His Girl Friday and All the President’s Men (the opening sequence of Billy Wilder’s The Front Page, itself a remake of His Girl Friday, is clearly referenced). While it does offer a timely parable about the value of good old-fashioned crack reporting and a potent warning about the collapse of the great newspapers, State of Play is, in the end, content to be an above-average mystery thriller, and it succeeds quite well for what it is. The amplification of the more topical aspects of the story is far from subtle in this remake, but these are such important issues to ponder that I for one am happy to overlook Hollywood’s tendency to beat one over the head. Heaven knows we could use a good head-thrashing these days. – [DVD]

Crime/Drama/Thriller

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 9/1/09

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