Henry Saw: State of Play

Not bad for a remake...


This is an American remake of a BBC miniseries that was made in 2003 (Read my review of the original series here).

I'll let IMDB handle the summary: A petty thief is gunned down in an alley and a Congressman's assistant falls in front of a subway - two seemingly unrelated deaths. But not to wisecracking, brash newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey (Russel Crowe) who spies a conspiracy waiting to be uncovered. With a turbulent past connected to the Congressman (Ben Affleck) and the aid of ambitious young rookie writer Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), Cal begins uprooting clues that lead him to a corporate cover-up full of insiders, informants, and assassins. But as he draws closer to the truth, the relentless journalist must decide if it's worth risking his life and selling his soul to get the ultimate story.

The actors definitely help bring some freshness to the story. Crowe, who looks a little silly with his long hair, always makes for a strong lead. He seems smart and determined enough to be a old-fashioned reporter. Also strong was McAdams who is a consistent actress and has a strong mix of energy, intelligence, and sarcasm to play the part. Affleck is actually decent, well cast as a straight-laced congressman, and Helen Mirren is fine as the editor of the paper (it's a bit of the cliched tough English lady role though).

The plot of the film follows the miniseries very closely just with some of the running sub-plots excised because of time considerations. Some of these eliminated plot lines were missed (two of the reporters from the original series were completely eliminated and their absence was definitely felt for this viewer) while others actually helped the narrative (removing some of the Cal has an affair with Steven's wife business). One thing the movie adds is the clash between old print media, represented by Crowe, and the modern, web-based blogosphere, represented by McAdams. It's an interesting addition to the plot.

All in all this is a smart little thriller that's worth your buck. It's not Oscar-bait, or the best newspaper movie ever, but its an entertaining flick that keeps you interested, doesn't speak down to its audience, and gives you something to talk about after the movie. That's good enough for me.

Grade: B

Best Scene: Early scenes showing Russel Crowe finding out facts