Is Russell Crowes latest movie a winner?
State of Play was first aired under the guise of a popular six part BBC TV drama series back in 2003. Despite its critical acclaim and much interest from film producers, writer Paul Abbot was initially reluctant to allow his script to be adapted for the big screen. That is until Paramount Pictures stumped up some big money in 2004 to help producer Scott Rudin take on the mighty task of squeezing it down to 127 minutes. With Last King of Scotland director Kevin MacDonald in the chair and seasoned pros Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, and Jeff Daniels in front of the camera, hopes were high that an adaptation of this gritty political thriller was set to deliver. And so it has. Moving across the pond from its orginal setting of London six years ago to a new home of Washington DC, we are plunged into a familiar political landscape where terrorism and US national security are top of the agenda at the White House. The movie opens with two seemingly unconnected incidents – two shooti
