State of Play

Plot synopsis:
One night, a thief fleeing through Georgetown in Washington, D.C., is shot by a man carrying a briefcase. A pizza delivery man who witnesses the incident is also shot by the killer and is left in a coma. The following morning, a young woman is killed by a Washington Metro train in what seems to be suicide. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is distraught to hear that the woman was Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer), a lead researcher on his staff. Collins, who has military experience, is leading an investigation into PointCorp, a private defense contractor with controversial operations involving mercenaries. Collins tells his former college roommate and old friend Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), an investigative reporter, that he had been having an affair with Sonia and that she had sent him a cheerful video message on the morning of her death, which he says is inconsistent and unusual behavior for someone about to commit suicide.
Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), a reporter and blogger with the online division of Cal's newspaper and its editor, Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren), discover that Sonia's death occurred in one of only three CCTV blind spots in the Metro camera system. Cal believes the shootings are related to Sonia's death and finds a link between the petty thief and a homeless girl who sought out Cal. The girl gives him photographs that the thief, a friend of hers, had stolen from the killer's briefcase. The photos show surveillance images of Sonia talking to a well-dressed man. Della visits the hospital where the pizza delivery man is regaining consciousness. While at his room, she witnesses the pizza delivery man shot dead by an unseen sniper. Later, she reviews CCTV footage and recognizes a man she saw at the hospital.
It is later revealed that PointCorp stands to gain 36.95€ billion (over $24.3 billion U.S. in 2009) annually from its mercenary activities in the Middle East and domestically. Cal speaks with Collins, who shares his research findings—PointCorp is cooperating with other defense contractors to create a monopoly and purchase government surveillance and defense contracts, essentially privatizing United States security from the government. Cal's PointCorp insider returns with the address of someone linked to the suspected assassin. Cal finds the assassin living there and calls the police, who force the man to disappear after he shoots at Cal.
Della, following a close lead, finds the identity of the well-dressed man who was speaking to Sonia in the listed photographs. He is Dominic Foy (Jason Bateman), a PR executive working for a subsidiary of PointCorp. Cal blackmails him into talking about his activities with Sonia and secretly tapes their conversation. The PR executive reveals that Sonia was actually paid to spy on Collins and to seduce him to get information for PointCorp, but she fell in love with Collins and was pregnant with his child when she was killed.
Before Cal's newspaper goes to press, Collins goes on record to present his research into PointCorp. Collins's estranged wife Anne (Robin Wright Penn), whose conversation with Cal seems to imply a past love triangle dating back to their college years, reveals that she knows the amount of money Sonia received from PointCorp, after just hearing Collins's statement to the newspaper. After the couple leaves, Cal realizes that Collins knew already that Sonia was working for PointCorp. Cal wonders what Collins would have done had he known he had been tricked and whether Collins himself is connected with Sonia's assassin. A picture of Collins from his military days, with the assassin in the frame, confirms Cal's hunch. Collins reveals that he had been suspicious of Sonia, and that he hired the assassin to watch her. The assassin is U.S. Army Corporal Robert Bingham (Michael Berresse), whose life Collins had once saved. Collins says that Bingham hated PointCorp more than he did, and that he killed Sonia with no authorization from him.
Cal tells Collins that he has three minutes to leave his office before the police arrive, as he has already contacted them. As he leaves the building, Cal is confronted by Bingham. Officers arrive and shoot Bingham before he opens fire. Cal leaves and goes to his office. There, Cal and Della type up their own story, noting that Collins was secured and arrested.

Tags: murder

Review:
Apart from the 2001 co-production 'Conspiracy' the BBC drama output is a poor shadow of what it used to be in the sixties and seventies.The six episodes of 'State of Play' need close attention but once the plot gets going it is a roller coaster ride to the last few minutes of the last episode.
David Morrissey and John Simm as Stephen Collins and Cal McCaffrey play brilliantly off against each other as truths are eventually discovered.
Paul Abbott's 'State of Play' succeeds gloriously on all these points, and confirms his reputation as among the the sharpest writers in British television today.Director David Yates also deserves credit, for keeping the mood tense but unmelodramatic throughout, while the cast show uniform excellence in bringing Abbott's characters to life.
David Morrissey as the MP around whom the storm breaks is also excellent - when politicians are held in universally low stock, 'State of Play' avoids all the easiest shots.
In 'State of Play', he has produced the best British TV series since 'Holding On'..
The acting is convincing, the plot is thick, the script is delicious and the characters are vivid.It's not often a TV production comes along leaving you hungry for more, but the BBC have a knack for picking quality and producing some of the best programming in the world.
It is not often that really good series based on politics, suspense and a bit of romance + comedy hit our idiot boxes.
The plot is complex, as the best political thrillers are, and delivers a TV drama that hopefully shuts up those who say that us Brits can't make TV like the Yanks.
You'll be sucked into this world and won't want to leave.Credit must be equally divided between its makers, and the direction is every bit as thrilling as the writing, and ,accordingly, David Yates is moving on to bigger things with the Harry Potter franchise.
The tremendous cast all deliver as you'd expect, with David Morrissey and John Simm excellent as the leads and a stunning supporting cast that includes Kelly MacDonald, Philip Glenister, Polly Walker, Patrick Brennan, Shauna MacDonald, Rebekah Staton, James McAvoy, Marc Warren and, of course, the ever-delightful Bill Nighy.More joy is found in the pulsating soundtrack, tight editing and cinematography.Overall, 'State of Play' is among the most thought-provoking and exhilarating thrillers you'll ever see and is quite possibly the best thing to have been on TV; British, American or otherwise..
Having watched it again in virtually one sitting I am once again surprised not only by how well the mini-series holds up during a second (or in my case third) viewing but just how high the quality of the mini-series really is.To begin with, the series features one essential element for any good story: good and believable characters played by fine actors.
The cast of the series is top notch and is led by John Simm as newspaper reporter Cal McCaffrey and David Morrissey as British politician Stephen Collins who both give two incredibly gripping yet believable performances.
While this is true of the entire series this fact is especially true during the final minutes of the series when things effectively become a two-hand play between Simm and Morrissey and their respective characters.
It's easy to imagine how these characters could have been played differently but here, in this series, these performances are (to use words I don't sue very often) absolutely perfect.That's not to say that the rest of the cast is lacking by any means, far from it in fact.
The supporting cast features fantastic performances that are just as gripping and believable as the performances of the mini-series two leads.
The cast ranges Kelly Macdonald as reporter Della Smith, James McAvoy as reporter Dan Foster, Polly Walker as Coliins wife Anne, Stuart Goodwin as the mysterious Robert Bingham and the ever magnificent Bill Nighy as newspaper editor Cameron Foster.
One of the best things about State Of Play is the fact that one could believe that this could whole sequence of events is really just a headline away at any moment.
Then there's the incredible fly-on-the-wall cinematography by Chris Seager which manages not only to compliment the reality of the production design and costumes but gives the entire mini-series a documentary feel as well, all of which is helped by the editing of Mark Day. There's also the sparingly used, but highly effective, score by composer Nicholas Hooper which does what a good score is supposed to do: give additional emotional depth to any scene it appears in.
All together the result is some of the strongest production values you're ever likely to see in a TV mini-series.The real success of the realistic feel of State Of Play lies not in how good the production values are but in the writing of scriptwriter Paul Abbott.
The mini-series also takes a look at the modern news industry, how it gathers news, where it gets its information from and how pressure can be brought to bare if there's a story too damaging to those in high and powerful places.
To do all this successfully and believably, Abbott forgoes many of the thriller clichés of rather tired action sequences and instead (and rightfully in my humble opinion anyway) focuses on the characters and their dialogue which leads to close six hours of fantastic dialogue and an incredible plot.
The result is a complex a mini-series that leaves a first-time viewer ever seeking answers and those who've seen it before looking and finding new clues with every viewing.
If you can say nothing else you can say that State Of Play is what a good thriller ought to be..
I take issue with some of the people commenting on "State of Play" who declare that they believe it to be "as good as American TV" or some other such nonsense.
Perhaps it's a generational thing, but I have always thought that British productions, particularly drama, are light years ahead of American TV and the actors are in a whole different galaxy.
The original "State of Play" is brilliant, suspenseful and a pleasure to watch.
Up until the last episode I was enthralled with the story.The mixture of journalism, politics and police work made for an interesting mix, although the latter two took more of a back seat nearing the end, replaced with lover's quarrels and artificial exposition more similar to soap opera writing.
I'd give the show 8/10, but the horrible finale totally undermined the story's credibility with several loose ends, and I was left frustrated instead of with the great feeling I had during the first 5 episodes..
Except for the final episode, which I will not describe, this series is among the best TV thrillers I've ever seen.
He is such a brilliant actor, proof that Love Actually wasn't a fluke for him, he's so on the money in the characterisation of the editor, a joy to watch.Please, please more of this sort of stuff England, it's what you do best when it comes to television..
With State of Play we get a brilliant written, deep show, with a great director and an fantastic cast.
A show so good that Hollywood remade it into a film stating Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck.The mini-series starts with brutal murder of a 15-year-old petty criminal and the suspected suicide of Sonia Baker, a researcher for Simon Collins MP (David Morrissey), the chairman of the Energy Select Committee.
Both men, with the backing of the Heard newspaper, including junior reporter Della Smith (Kelly MacDonald), editor Cameron Foster (Bill Nighy) and free-lancer Dan Foster (James McAvoy).
This series treats it seriously, much like the West Wing does with American politics (if a bit more far-fetched).
The series has a great complex plot, you don't know where its going next and shows how hard journalists have to work.
The State of Play and his other mini-series Sex Traffic was prove enough for him to a land a small feature film, Harry Potter.
He makes the series look very cinematic, like an excellent thriller feature.
He is a skilled man.There is a great cast, David Morrissey and John Sims are both very good actors and were excellent in the leads.
There is a great support cast, with actors like Kelly MacDonald, James McAvoy, Bill Nighy and Marc Warren.
I don't know how I managed to miss this one, but this has to be one of the best written, directed and acted series that I have ever seen.
A few of the actors have gone on to become well known movie stars, James McAvoy, Bill Nighy, Kelly MacDonald, and the director David Yates has directed the last 4 Harry Potter movies.
State of Play - British 6 part series from 2011 streaming on BritBox or NetFix DVD.
When I started searching for this mini-series, I got confused because there's a US movie with Russle Crowe that has the same exact title, and the plots are even similar.
Although the Russle Crowe movie is pretty good, it doesn't hold a candle to this British mini-series.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone that likes good well written character driven political thriller type dramas.
The cast is really good and each of the 5-6 main characters are equally important in making the story work and they do a splendid job.
The main reason for not getting a10/10 rating is the fact that the way story ends and how the last episode transpires is a huge let down, especially when the first five episodes are spectacular.
I particularly liked the framing suitable for wide screen viewing with the characters posed against backgrounds that make great use of color to accentuate the mood.The story of a newspaper reporter digging into a murder that ultimately involves high-level politicos requires close attention but, with a six hour run time, things unfold at a pace that can be digested.The ensemble cast is beyond reproach and Bill Nighy is simply superb in is portrayal of the editor of a large London newspaper.
I saw the Crowe film, State of Play, at the cinema, quite liked it (despite his accent) and found what I thought was the DVD in a shop with the price tag of £4.
Brilliant in fact, the best BBC series since the '95 Pride and Prejudice.There were no weak performances, as one would expect with the likes of Bill Nighy, who was excellent, Kelly Macdonald, who is always good value but excelled herself here, John Simm, in his best performance so far, David Morrissey, who got the character to perfection, Marc Warren and oh, so many others.The script was clever, with some lovely one-liners, and the plot developed at a pace that was intriguing.
I'm glad I hadn't seen the series when it first came out as I don't think I could have taken the gap between the episodes.The character development was far superior to the film, but then it was nearly four times longer so it was entitled to be.
No so bit-part Polly Walker was excellent as well.There were little running jokes all the way through that lightened the film at just the right moments.The ending has come in for criticism but it was essential to give a reason for everything.
Simm's choice, and his reasons, at the end is critical to the story.Bill Nighy had the best script.
I thought David Morissey's acting was fantastic and with John Simm they played in an amazing theatrical way.
Bill Nighy is a catch-phrase man -again- always classy and we also see some of the first steps of James McAvoy, another great actor.If you're a fan of -such genre- British television shows, i think you're going to like it.
A skillful mix of politics and investigative journalism in contemporary Britain, with lots of acting talent on display, "State of Play" is an absorbing and compulsive watch , even spread over 6 hour-long episodes.It starts with a violent murder and attempted murder and soon links up with the earlier apparent suicide of an attractive young female researcher on the team of rising politician David Morrissey whose brief is energy.
Freelance journalist John Simms, coincidentally the former campaign manager of Morrissey, gets involved and with a small team of journalists of a national daily newspaper, gradually puts all the pieces together before uncovering the final shocking truth about the death of the young researcher.Although there are plot holes and unlikely coincidences (for instance, of all the people Morrissey's deceived wife turns to in her moment of crisis, she chooses her husband's mate Simm), but with strong individual characters, strong, forward-moving plot and everyday realism it keeps you watching and watching.
I would say myself that the ensemble acting probably elevated the story slightly above its station, besides Morrissey and Simm, both very good, there are scene-stealing performances by an emergent James McAvoy as a ruthless young reporter and Bill Nighy as the cynical, world weary editor but who nevertheless sticks his neck out for his team once he realises how juicy the blossoming story is, even if I was never fully convinced that the latter two are father and son.There are also some equally memorable supporting parts too, especially the unfortunate informant Dominic who gets completely screwed over by the team, used up and thrown aside once his usefulness to them ends, the team's young, gay transcriber/recordist, the vengeful but ultimately loyal wife Anne and on the political side, Morrissey's scheming spin doctor and cabinet-level mentor, all very much in the mix.
Sympathies and antipathies among policemen, journalists, politicians - as well as between those groups - let dramas and twists prosper, nicely supported by very good (Bill Nighy as Cameron Foster, James McAvoy as Dan Foster, Marc Warren as Dominic Foy) and good acting (the rest).It seems, however, that some scenes are over-sophisticated and some others do not provide additional value to the logic, thus the 6 episodes of 1 hour each is a bit much (and you need to watch them all in a correct sequence), 5 or even 4 could have avoided short-term falls in tension.
The ending scenes have also some gaps of logic; but anyway, a strong series within good British traditions, particularly for intelligent viewers with some interest in social/public matters..
David Morrissey's performance was very reminiscent of his role in the equally good "Holding On' I thought.John Simms as the prime investigative reporter was definitely the standout though - a cleverly scripted excellently directed piece that convincingly twisted and turned throughout the five episodes.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I accidentally watched the first episode of "State of Play" and was absolutely hooked.
John Simm, David Morrisey, Bill Nighy: all excellent, and I think I almost fell in love with Kelly MacDonald.
If you want to know why the latest Harry Potter movies are not very good, look at the uninventive directing of David Yates in State of Play.
2. Why did the police recklessly shoot dead the assassin ?Watch The Wire for comparison of a better TV series, better drama, more real characters, better writing, better directing, better editing.Watch All the President's Men for filming in an open plan newspaper office.
All of the primary and supporting cast are excellent but special credit must go to the ever outstanding John Simm plus Kelly MacDonald and David Morrisey.
Credit for that lies in excellent writing from Paul Abbot.The story starts and concludes on the apparent suicide of the personal assistant of the Chairman of The Energy Select Commitee, Stephen Collins (Morrisey), whom it transpires were having an affair.By accident and due to an unrelated story his friend and leading Herald reporter Cal (Simm) discovers evidence that her death may not have been suicide.
State of Play is ultimately a story of betrayal.State of Play would be worth watching just for the ever brilliant John Simm (Brad, you'll need to give the best performance of your life to be half as good), the fact its six of the best hours of television I've seen just sweetens the deal.
This BBC TV mini series is so far ahead of the remake released as a theatre movie earlier this year, that it could almost be another piece entirely.
But it's telling to make the comparison and take note of what the main differences are, and what they say about the current state of the film industry.The TV series featured an ensemble cast of really good solid actors with a few real stand outs (Bill Nighy, David Morrissey, John Simm, Kelley Macdonald) playing a convincing crew of real characters.
In the TV series, love her or hate her, this is a woman really enjoying getting her kit off and having a revenge affair.Given that the action and intrigue had to be stuffed into a third of the time, what the movie sacrifices is, of course, the female characters.
Stephen Collins (David Morrissey) seemed an intriguing politician and his ex-campaign manager turned broadsheet investigative reporter Cal McCaffrey (John Simm) was also interesting.
Another Cutie as a woman this time (playing Della Frye, a newbie journalist), the "Girl who has no use in the movie but looks good and that's enough".
And the only good actress with an interesting role plays the Editor.
In the BBC miniseries, between the great John Simm (MacCaffrey, has played the Master on DrWho), David Morissey (Stephen Collins, playing in The Walking Dead), James Mc Avoy, Bill Nighy, Kelly McDonald (Della an accomplished journalist, see the difference with the movie?, now playing in the Boardwalk Empire), Polly Walker and so on...
The miniseries is an ensemble cast series, and that's what makes its greatness.
The cast is top notch; most notably John Simm and David Morrissey as McCaffrey and Collins but there are also fantastic performances from Kelly Macdonald, Bill Nighy, James McAvoy and Polly Walker to name just a few.