Affleck, speaking in a fine Philadelphia accent, is very good in the film's silliest role. Tubby and hairy again, Crowe does his best with the righteousness he has to play. McAdams makes a lot of cute faces and does a great deal of obvious snooping. When I got tired of hearing her called Della, I pretended people were saying "Nancy Drew," instead. Even so, it's actually fun watching the journalists put this story together. There's a relish in the actors' faces that gets at the thrill both of breaking news and investigating it.
State of Play
Full-court press: Fast-paced thriller 'State of Play' chases a juicy story and lionizes print journalists
(Page 3 of 3)
Through it all, there is Mirren giving everybody hell and putting exasperated comedy into such basic activities as punching the numbers on a telephone. Her character's loose journalism standards are worrisome, and she doesn't appear to do any actual editing - no ones does, for that matter. If this performance can't save newspapers, it certainly makes them seem like the most entertaining place in the world to work.
Wesley Morris can be reached at wmorris@globe.com. For more on movies, go to www.boston.com/ae/movienation.
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