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wikipedia.org :
The film was directed by Kevin Macdonald from a screenplay written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, Peter Morgan, and Billy Ray.
The film tells of a journalist's probe into the suspicious death of a Congressman's mistress. Russell Crowe plays the journalist and Ben Affleck plays the Congressman. The supporting cast includes Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Jason Bateman, Robin Wright Penn, and Jeff Daniels. Macdonald said State of Play is informed by the films of the 1970s, and explores the topical subjects of journalistic independence and the relationship between politicians and the press. It was released in North America on April 17, 2009.
Plot :
One night, a thief is fleeing through Washington, D.C. at night and is killed by a man carrying a briefcase and a handgun with a silencer. A pizza delivery man who witnesses the incident while riding his bicycle is shot by the killer and is left in a coma. The following morning, a young woman is killed by a subway train in an apparent suicide. Congressman Stephen Collins (Affleck) is distraught to hear the news, as the woman was Sonia Baker, 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. Reporter Cal McAffrey (Crowe) was Collins' college roommate, and the two discuss Sonia's death. Collins reveals that he had been having an extramarital affair with Sonia, and that Sonia had sent him a cheerful video message on the morning of her death, which he believes is inconsistent behavior for someone about to commit suicide. Della Frye (McAdams), a reporter and blogger with the online division of Cal's newspaper, discovers that Sonia's death occurred in one of only three CCTV blind spots on the subway platform. Cal believes the shootings are related to Sonia's death and finds a link between the thief and a homeless girl who sought out Cal. She gives him photographs that the thief, a friend of hers, stole 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. She meets a man while exiting an elevator. She witnesses the pizza man in his hospital bed shot dead by an unseen sniper. Dismayed, she returns to her newspaper's office and reviews CCTV footage; she recognizes the man she met at the hospital on the footage from the subway platform and at the elevator in the hospital. Cal asks a connection he has inside PointCorp to find information regarding the man. He reveals that PointCorp stands to gain $40 billion 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.
Cal's PointCorp insider returns with the address of someone linked to the suspected assassin. Cal visits the address to find the assassin living there. Terrified, Cal makes an excuse and tries to leave. Stalked by the man, Cal calls the police who arrive and force the man to disappear after he shoots at Cal. Della, following a lead, finds the identity of the well-dressed man speaking to Sonia in the photographs — 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 excecutive reveals that Sonia was paid to spy on Collins for PointCorp, but that she loved Collins and was pregnant with his baby when she was killed. Before Cal's newspaper goes to press, Collins goes on record to present his research into PointCorp. Collin's wife Anne reveals that she knows about the money paid to Sonia and after Stephen and Anne leave, Cal realizes that Stephen knew already that Sonia was working for PointCorp. Cal then wonders what Stephen would have done had he known he had been tricked and whether Stephen himself is connected with the assassin and looks at Stephen's old military picture for clues.
The military picture confirms Cal's hunch, and Cal rushes to Collins' office to speak with him. Collins reveals that he had been suspicious of Sonia, and that he hired the assassin to watch her. The assassin is Corporal Bingham, a former military colleague of Collins', whose life Collins had once saved. Collins says that Bingham didn't trust Sonia and killed her with no authorization from him. Cal tells Collins that he has three minutes to leave his office before the police arrive, as he's already contacted them. Cal goes to his car where he is confronted by Bingham, who says he will kill for a friend. Cal ducks, and the officers whom Cal called arrive and shoot Bingham before he opens fire. At the office Cal and Della type up their story with an altered version of Bingham's death (the story indicates that Bingham had committed suicide) and noting that Collins was arrested before they leave the office together. The film credits roll with footage of the newspaper being printed.
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