Tony Gilroy

Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck Bring Spark to Mediocre ‘State of Play’

BrianTT — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 00:21:24 -0600

Rating: 3.0/5.0

CHICAGO – I’ll be the first critic to tell you that they don’t make adult thrillers often enough. I was very disappointed by the lackluster box office take of Tony Gilroy’s ” Duplicity”. But does that mean that we should give all intellectual mysteries a pass? Of course not. And while I want to love Kevin Macdonald’s “State of Play,” a few poor decisions during production keep it back from being the excellent film it could have been.

It’s even easier to see where “State of Play” went wrong than with most so-so movies because we have the original, amazing BBC mini-series for comparison. Of course, Macdonald couldn’t be expected to duplicate what was accomplished in six hours with only two, but the decisions made in the truncation were not always the smartest ones. And, perhaps, someone should have considered that the lengthy original could never have been adequately condensed into two hours.

Russell Crowe as reporter Cal McAffrey.
Photo credit: Glen Wilson and Universal Pictures

Before you say that this version should be judged on its own, I can’t rewrite history and change the fact that I’ve seen (and adored) the original. I know what “State of Play” could have been. And many of the flaws of this version are amplified by their absence in the source material. Essentially, work that was “all grays” has, often by the necessity of length, had its shading removed and become purely black and white.

One thing can be said about “State of Play” for certain - it’s not slow. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s not boring but the actual plot moves at 100 miles per hour. Don’t show up late for this one.

In the opening scenes, a junkie is shot and an innocent bystander takes another bullet when he happens to witness the first execution. Shortly thereafter, a rising Congressman’s aide, Sonia Baker (Maria Thayer) is going to work when she ends up on the track and not the platform of high-speeding public transportation.

Old-fashioned reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) gets the junkie case and rising star Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) lands the Congressman’s aide story after it’s revealed that her boss, Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), was sleeping with his head researcher. It turns out the Collins and Baker were working together on a major hearing involving a Halliburton-esque company when they started up an affair. Could the company have been involved in her accident? Or the Congressman? What about the Congressman’s wife (Robin Wright Penn)?

Things get really complicated when it turns out that Cal’s shooting and Sonia’s accident are related. The fact that Cal is old friends with Collins both helps and hurts the investigation by both the journalists and the cops. Helen Mirren plays the editor.

Newspaper editor Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren) questions reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe).
Photo credit: Glen Wilson and Universal Pictures

There’s not a false performance in “State of Play” and anyone who likes it will do so because of the great ensemble. At first, I wasn’t sure about Crowe’s paunch (not quite as big as “Body of Lies” but not far off) and the low-key nature of his performance, but it works. He’s in nearly every scene in the movie and, as usual, he delivers. Affleck is great too, proving that the string of smart decisions he’s made lately - “Hollywoodland,” “Gone Baby Gone” - were no fluke.

Jeff Daniels and Jason Bateman are also great in small roles, and Helen Mirren could make anything interesting, even if she isn’t given nearly enough of the great material that won Bill Nighy awards for the same part in the BBC original. Only McAdams feels miscast, but almost all of her moments are exposition, pushing the speeding plot forward..

Great cast? Check. Great writers? You can’t do much better than Matthew Michael Carnahan (“The Kingdom”), Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”), and Billy Ray (“Shattered Glass”). But they make some regrettable choices. The final act is a particular mess with the breakneck pace turned up to eleven. There are confessions and revelations that come so quickly that they feel like actors working towards a final scene more than anything organic. It feels rushed.

Probably because it is. And that rushing misses something about the story. The heart of the BBC original was about how the world of journalism and politics have become intertwined. The lines between the people covering politicians and the lawmakers themselves have become blurry at best. They’re too defined in the US “State of Play”. This is just another story of the white knight of journalism versus the corruption of big business. Of course, as a writer, I’m tempted to say there can’t be too many of those, but it doesn’t have the impact of something deeper.

Ultimately, “State of Play” is a well-made, well-paced thriller, but it’s ultimately merely so-so. It’s an average thriller that falls below the median when compared to the spectacular original. People who agree that there aren’t nearly enough adult thrillers will find a lot to like here but even people haven’t seen the original will sense there could have been more.

‘State of Play’ stars Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels, Jason Bateman, and Robin Wright Penn. It was written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, and Billy Ray and directed by Kevin Macdonald. It opens on April 17th, 2009. It is rated PG-13.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Julia Roberts, Clive Owen Shine in Tony Gilroy’s Clever ‘Duplicity’

BrianTT — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:05:02 -0600

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Writer/director Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”) uses words the same way horror movie directors use blood or action movie auteurs use bullets. His weapon of choice, witty repartee, is delivered wonderfully in the enjoyable, clever, charming “Duplicity,” starring Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, and Tom Wilkinson.

The same whip-smart, intellectual ear for dialogue that made “Michael Clayton” such an immensely interesting film is back in “Duplicity,” a film that could definitely be called a loose sibling of Gilroy’s last. If you showed nearly anyone the two films and asked them if they were made by the same writer/director, they would probably know that they were.

Ex-CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) are spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair.
Photo credit: Andrew Schwartz and Universal

Be aware that “Duplicity” is a much lighter film than “Clayton”. It’s a much less serious piece, even if Gilroy is back in the world of evil corporations and the men and women who really make them tick. “Duplicity” is a frothy, breezy, romantic mystery movie of the kind they made much more often in the days of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (think “Charade”).

The reasonable replacements for Grant and Hepburn in 2008 are Clive Owen and Julia Roberts as a pair of spies who have gone from MI6 and the CIA to the much-more-dangerous world of corporate espionage.

“Duplicity” opens in Dubai in 2003 in the first meeting between the amazingly sexy CIA Agent Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and man who would give James Bond a run for his money in the suave department, MI6 Agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen, finally in a role that shows off his incredible charm instead of the downtrodden characters he’s played lately). Claire seduces and drugs Koval, taking some confidential material from his hotel room.

After what will likely be the best opening credits sequence of the year featuring two of better actors in a slow-motion fight in the rain, we flash forward to the present day, as Ray has gotten a job working in the corporate espionage department of one of the biggest companies in the world, Omnikrom. The CEO of Omnikrom, Dick Garsik (Paul Giamatti), is in a constant battle with his arch-nemesis, Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson), the CEO of Burkett & Randle.

What do Omnikrom and Burkett & Randle do? What don’t they do? It’s never clear exactly but the Halliburton-esque impression is that these companies make everything from toothpaste to nuclear weapons. And they’re always concerned about what the other one is doing.

Ex-CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) are spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair.
Photo credit: Universal

The group that Ray works with (including great character actors Denis O’Hare and Kathleen Chalfant) spend every minute trying to dig into the world of Burkett & Randle. They monitor security cameras, email accounts, and have even hacked into copy machines to see exactly what their enemy is up to lately. They know that B&R has a big announcement on the horizon. They want to beat them to it.

To that end, they have a mole on the inside at B&R - Claire Stenwick. After she left the CIA, she got a job trying to stop the leaks at B&R, but is secretly working with Ray and his team. Or is she? And what of their past? “Duplicity” regularly flashes back to gorgeous locales around the world (which are great visual off-sets to the New York-set action of the bulk of the film) and the mystery within a puzzle wrapped in an enigma that is “Duplicity” doesn’t become clear until the final scene.

It’s so refreshing to experience a film that actually demands you pay attention to follow the action. Gilroy is a master at staying one step ahead of the audience - not too many that the film gets overly complex, but just enough so you’re constantly trying to play catch-up.

Ex-CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) are spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair.
Photo credit: Universal

And Gilroy knows how to direct actors. Owen is incredibly charming and Roberts proves that she’s lost none of her movie star power. If anything, she gives a more subtle performance than you might expect, reining in the big smile and laugh for an intellectual sexiness that would draw in any man.

As “Duplicity” moves past the two-hour mark, Gilroy piles on at least one flashback and one big corporate speech too many. I couldn’t help but think there’s a tigther, great movie in “Duplicity” that runs about fifteen minutes shorter. What’s there works, it’s just there’s a bit too much of it and any spy will tell you that timing is everything if you want your plan to be executed to perfection.

Pacing and length issues aside, there’s so much to like about “Duplicity”. It’s that rarest of things in Hollywood - a piece of intellectual entertainment that is aimed squarely at adults. With two of our most charming actors and two of the best supporting actors speaking Tony Gilroy’s excellent dialogue, “Duplicity” won’t leave you feeling cheated.

‘Duplicity’ stars Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, Tom Wilkinson, Denis O’Hare, and Kathleen Chalfant. It was written and directed by Tony Gilroy. It opens on March 20th, 2009. It is rated PG-13.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Michael Clayton’ is Adult Antidote to Torrent of Monotonous Gobbledygook

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:56:52 -0600

CHICAGO – Don’t be fooled by its formulaic, Hollywoodspeak tagline.

“The truth can be adjusted” is the “Michael Clayton” way of saying this film has rammed in a whole hell of a lot more than you might first presume and is about to blindside you with everything a picture-perfect Hollywood product should be.

George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
An opulent, all-star cast as in “The Departed” sometimes yields the film of the year. At other times, the failure of that resolve can make financiers suicidal.

In the case of “Michael Clayton,” writer/director Tony Gilroy weaves the commanding George Clooney, flawlessly fanatical (and sometimes streaking) Tom Wilkinson, tautly corporate Tilda Swinton and the always-on-top-of-his-game Sydney Pollack into a film that pays its weight in gold.

Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
Executive producers Clooney, Steven Soderbergh, James Holt and Anthony Minghella either have it too easy or yet again know when lead is about to be fashioned into a mountain of bullion. Clooney himself carries the show in an exquisitely intricate story that ably pulls off the art of the circular plot.

Much in the same way “Pulp Fiction” starts with the end and circles back once the middle has been teemed in, Clooney in his inextricable role as a “fixer” of all things crooked plunges you into the wildly provocative world of corporate America.

Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
While I only have love for the hilarity of late from “Superbad,” “Knocked Up” and the like, the gravity of “Michael Clayton” – much like this year’s “Fracture” with Anthony Hopkins – is the adult antidote to a torrent of monotonous gobbledygook devoid of poignant messaging.

A serious film with a serious plot, serious actors and an imperative statement, I thank the film gods it’s wedged into 2007 history because the year would have been lacking without it.

The fictional agrochemical company U/North and its looming calamity is at the heart of the film, which opens limited on Friday and goes wide on Oct. 12. It doesn’t take much fantasizing for U/North to smack of similiar, real-life corporate behemoths.

Sydney Pollack in “Michael Clayton”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
While you could imagine crisis litigation going much like this through the realization of a potentially deadly byproduct at the expense of silver linings and golden executive parachutes, “Michael Clayton” importantly brings into the limelight the U.S. corporate machine while mercilessly illuminating what happens in back alleys.

Though lawyers certainly get the bad wrap of being blood-sucking money fiends, it’s less realized that in a courtroom their primary role is as a well-studied actor. It’s the side that not only tells the truth but tells the better truth that ultimately wolfs down all the cake.

“I’m the guy you buy!” isn’t just a climatic line Clooney uses to slap Swinton upside her head. It’s actually the catastrophic revelation that high-powered suits can freely and dispassionately ride that train of thinking today and only sometimes get caught along the way.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com