Product: State Of Play (2008)
Rating: 5.0
What the movie missed...
When I saw the movie, I felt there was something missing with the way the Russel Crowe character was developed... He was far too central in a manner that appeared as though EVERYTHING eminated from his know-how... how god-like is that? Glady I sat through the movie (I did like it) and learned that it was based on a BBC teleplay. I ordered the DVD and as I watched it I could see that much of the Crowe's movie character seemed very much a composite of characters that were in the BBC production. The DVD showed other reporters that, like real beat reporters, have a particular expertise in their given assignments. The movie showed a rivalry between blogger versus print... The BBC production presented the cooperation between the reporting team. The movie lost that on the audience, instead EVERYTHING centered on Crowe. The BBC DVD had a good and realist ensemble of beat reporters in character. The pulse of the newsroom was depicted rather well, with its hard-nosed and quirky characters was done with some accuracy. All-in-all I was taken away with the BBC production. It had very strong character development that I believe was lost on the move. I'm grateful that TV production provided so much more. John Simm was also brilliant in "Life on Mars" another favorite which also is far better than its US-counterpart.