With intricate and challenging plots and sub plots, as well as a Stellar cast,  State of Play is one of the Best films in this genre of a smart and sophisticated thriller.

No, not a slasher, please give me some credit for taste…. This involves newspaper journalists working on breaking a possible homicide case, and ending up implicating political high ups, and gigantic and powerful players.

Russell Crowe is his usual intense and earthy self, Rachel McAdams is charming and so smart in her counterpoint part with him, as the young cub reporter.  Helen Mirren delivers magnificently, as usual, and certainly one of the most beautiful of these older actresses that are hanging in there, despite Hollywood’s proclivity for youth.

But I must say the one that really blew me away was Ben Affleck.  I know…. Surprise huh!!    Finally he’s come back in stride, and this film shows him strong, smart, powerful, angry, with great intelligent delivery, and the subtlety he shows in close up emotional moments is really astounding.   Hurray, because my goodness he is a good looking bloke.

Supporting actors are hardly shabby… Robin Wright Penn, one of my favorites, is her usual wonderful and complex character (another breathtakingly gorgeous person), and Jason Bateman of the Ron Howard series “Arrested Development”, is such an original character in this film, with his crafty, sharp, nasty, and extremely human part.

In all, I highly recommend checking this one out.