State of Play (2009)

IMDb plot summary: An investigative journalist probes the murder of a Congressman's mistress.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald. Stars Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, and Ben Affleck.

State of Play is a political thriller starring Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams as journalists digging into the mysterious death of a senator's staff member. Crowe and the senator, played by Ben Affleck, are longtime friends, and the question of whether this is a conflict of interest for Crowe to be investigating is definitely a concern. Like many stories about journalists, this one requires you to follow along very carefully piece by piece, as it's so easy to lose track of how the latest lead is related back to the original thing that they're looking into. Ffollowing the trail of breadcrumbs in these films is often kind of an exhausting thing for me, but it was done pretty entertainingly here. Without giving too many spoilers away, I also thought the way in which the story ended was creative and more nuanced than I expected. None of the actors particularly stand out, but none of them missed the mark either. The whole film is kind of like that, not exciting but not shoddy by any means. It's probably going to particularly appeal to you if you are already a fan of this genre or of any of the actors involved, but as someone with more neutral feelings on all of those, I thought it was fine but have no need to watch it again. 

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 State of Play (2009)

📊 Ranked #1916/4045 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 53

lost to Malignant (#2017 → #2008)

beat You Only Live Once (#3028 → #3027)

beat Her Man (held at #2523)

beat Selma (#2271 → #2272)

beat It's Kind of a Funny Story (#2146 → #2140)

beat The Firm (#2081 → #2080)

beat Gothika (#2048 → #2066)

beat The Perfumier (#2032 → #2533)

beat The Trial (#2024 → #2065)

lost to Muppet Treasure Island (#2020 → #1986)

lost to John Wick (#2022 → #1915)

beat Chain Reaction (#2023 → #2024)