State of Play (ed)

Tonight Claire and I went to our local movie theater, the Cameo. We were excited and anticipating the screening of "State of Play," the new Kevin MacDonald movie (staring Russel Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels, so forth). After the movie there would be a live discussion with the director. Lies. Well not exactly lies, it was live, yes, but in Notting Hill. They had a live stream broadcast to Edinburgh and 50 other cities in the U.K. We felt robbed! We were so excited, thinking of questions to ask, speculating whether or not Russel would be there (the director is Scottish, so we assumed he would be there!) Despite the rude shock the movie itself was good.

It's about a journalist, Cal (Russel) and his college friend, Congressman Stephan Collins (Ben!) and the scandal he uncovers linking two seemingly random deaths together. It was written by the same man who wrote the Bourne movies and Kevin MacDonald had previously directed "The Last King of Scotland." It was suspenseful. In the first five minutes you see a man running for his life, encountering cars and motorcycles to escape from his pursuer. You of course do not see who is chasing him or why he is so panicked. I was on the edge of my seat. Literally. The music selection was excellent--conveying the right amounts of tension and as a viewer I was aware of the danger the characters were in. There were several instances of my fingers in my ear trying to steer clear of any unwanted suspense. Then again, I am a chicken. The movie was shot with precision and it was such a disappointment I could not ask the director any questions. The movie had the best recipe for a suspenseful drama. It had tension, drive & motive, plot, twists and was fantastically acted. I approve!