“STATE OF PLAY” — Condition Twisting & Turning; Situation Normal & Frightening =

Rating: 8 of 10 stars.

I’m sure that (after the pathetic reign of Emperor George the Inept) the idea of politicians not being totally HONEST with the public must come as a “SHOCK” to you. If so, this film will probably stun you, because it has “double” & “triple” agents of that in a swirling mix of deceits, deceptions and power plays. BEN AFFLECK is a Congressman investigating shady actions by a powerful, secretive company providing mercenaries around the world. His investigator (& secret lover) Anne (ROBIN WRIGHT PENN) suddenly turns up dead, & his ex-classmate friend Cal, a well-connected newspaper reporter (RUSSELL CROWE), tries to help uncover the murky truth behind numerous lies & cover-ups. He’s assisted by new reporter Della (RACHEL McADAMS), threatened by his boss (HELEN MIRREN), fights with the cops (HARRY LENNIX), misled by a political official (JEFF DANIELS), and frequently surprised by what he turns up. This is a fascinating, unusually WELL-DONE who-done-it (& why-it-done), with impressive efforts by all.