Whatever one might think of Russell Crowe, in this thriller he is brilliant. And as in all good thrillers, there are plenty of unexpected twists in the story. The scenario is feasible enough to seem real, albeit unlikely. Russell Crowe doesn't sound like and American, but not like an Aussie either - except in the 'Making of' feature, which is well worth watching. As for Helen Mirren she is unmistakably British, which seems a bit unlikely heading up an American newspaper in Washington. But those are minor quibbles about an enjoyable movie.

State of Play was a truly fantastic film, a wonderful mix of intrigue and drama with more than a bit of humour thrown in. I can not fault any of the performances, but thought that Russel Crow and Helen Mirrin were stand outs... and Jason Bateman was a great surprise package in his role. The only not so fantastic performance was Ben Affleck, BUT having said that it is only in comparison to the brilliant performance of almost everyone else.

This would have been an entertaining, though convoluted, thriller - except that the plot device on which the whole endgame is based makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! It's a complete cop-out with the main protagonist (Crowe) putting 2 2 together and coming up with "lightbulb". Ruined the whole movie for me, I'm afraid.