State of Play [DVD]

Transplanting the story from Britain to America, State Of Play finds Russell Crowe taking on the role of Washington reporter Cal McCaffrey (played by John Simm in the original mini-series), and he starts to look into a mysterious series of murders. One such murder is that of Congressman Stephen Collins’ researcher, and with the backing of his editor (played by Helen Mirren), McCaffrey starts poking his nose into some increasingly dangerous business.

Directed with consummate skill by Kevin McDonald (who last helmed The Last King Of Scotland), State Of Play is a twisting, terrifically written thriller that benefits enormously from the strength of its cast. Both Crowe and Mirren are on excellent form here, but plaudits must also go to Ben Affleck as Collins, as well as Rachel McAdams as McCaffrey’s co-reporter.

Does it beat the miniseries on which it’s based? It does as fine a job as you could ever possibly expect, taking a six-episode television programme and distilling it into a compelling two-hour Hollywood thriller. State Of Play, in whatever form you catch it, is some piece of work. And the movie version? It’s one of the finest mainstream releases of the year. --Jon Foster