State of Play

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State of Play

PG-13

Released Apr 17, 2009

2h 7m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

213 Reviews

73%

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100,000+ Ratings

Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is a rising star in Washington; handsome, unflappable and seemingly honorable, he's seen as his party's next presidential nominee. Until, however, his research assistant/mistress is found murdered and damaging secrets come pouring out. Journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), Collins' old friend, must investigate the murder, and walks headlong into a massive cover-up involving some of the nation's most promising political and corporate figures.

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Critics Consensus

A taut, well-acted political thriller, State of Play overcomes some unsubtle plot twists with an intelligent script and swift direction.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

State of Play is well put together and has some intelligence but it's just not very interesting or exciting or gripping for most of the time.

Aug 29, 2018

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

This film was well worth the wait.

Rated: A

Sep 12, 2017

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Joshua Rothkopf

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 17, 2011

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... the culture of old style newspaper reporting butting up against the new culture of internet journalism and the bottom line of shrinking profits and corporate demands makes for a lively and very current backdrop.

Apr 29, 2025

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A serviceable movie, but it’s the performances that carry the experience.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 1, 2023

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Niall Browne

Movies in Focus

State of Play is a classy piece of Hollywood filmmaking that delivers an entertaining two hours in the cinema and features enjoyable star performances from Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 17, 2021

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alan g

Investigative journalist as action hero? Meh. Its been done and better.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/28/25

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Ilja K

Weak story as the basis, inconclusive and unconvincing directing showing far from realistic circumstances, in some manner absence of logic behind main character actions, illusive sense of the movie main idea, and a lame twist in the end of the movie - that does not surprise the viewer, but rather rather adds absurdity to the motivation of Ben Affleck character and the whole story.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

06/29/25

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Audience Member

Professional active journalist and reporters should not be used in movies. It decreases the integrity of their profession i.e. Lou Dobbs etc. I don't like that industries such as News Media and Banks provide identical services; we need true independence with differentiating stories and services. When Affleck's character stated they all (private defense contracters) have similar bank activity that wouldn't raise a red flag with me. Banks are all about the same when it comes to their financial services. This is mainly due to Gov't regulatory control. When Affleck's character agreed the NSA is trying to privatize our NSA that initially is worrisome and a private public partnership may be the best course of action. Of course the moral implications (two wrongs don't make a right) and psychological detriments should be studied and understood. I don't know enough about privatization of NSA responsibilities (other than movies) to have a more comprehensive opinion. Finally, personal indiscretions should not prevent or influence doing the right thing professionally.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/25

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Edward F

It wasn't great, but it was pretty good.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/17/25

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Bob L

Ditto what everyone else said about performances (though Affleck seems in over his head and incapable of being interesting without some Bat Toys to play with), but this barely had a heartbeat. 90 minutes in, it was still meandering aimlessly. I guess we're all supposed to be on the edge of our seats waiting for Russell Crowe to Scooby Doo the answer together in real time, but 60 minutes was more than this needed to take.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

10/18/24

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Ishara L

Movie #1537 A solidly written political thriller book-ended by a great cast with tight and adept filmmaking.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/10/24

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Kevin Macdonald

Director

Russell Crowe

Cal McAffrey

Ben Affleck

Stephen Collins

Rachel McAdams

Della Frye

Helen Mirren

Cameron Lynne

Robin Wright

Anne Collins

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Synopsis

Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is a rising star in Washington; handsome, unflappable and seemingly honorable, he's seen as his party's next presidential nominee. Until, however, his research assistant/mistress is found murdered and damaging secrets come pouring out. Journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), Collins' old friend, must investigate the murder, and walks headlong into a massive cover-up involving some of the nation's most promising political and corporate figures.

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Andrew Hauptman
Screenwriter: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, Billy Ray
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Andell Entertainment, Bevan-Fellner
Rating: PG-13 (Language|Brief Drug Content|Sexual References|Some Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 17, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $37.0M
Runtime: 2h 7m

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