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State of Play

State of Play

Thriller · Crime · Mystery · 2009

When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.

Movie details

State of Play

“Find the truth”

2009 Thriller · Crime · Mystery 2h 7m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over State of Play?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Crossword Mysteries: Proposing Murder

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Kevin Macdonald

Written by

Tony Gilroy · Matthew Michael Carnahan · Billy Ray

Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe

Cal McAffrey

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck

Stephen Collins

Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams

Della Frye

Helen Mirren

Helen Mirren

Cameron Lynne

Robin Wright

Robin Wright

Anne Collins

Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman

Dominic Foy

Jeff Daniels

Jeff Daniels

George Fergus

Court is in session

Put State of Play on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.