I really didn’t see this movie coming, it was more of something to pass time, but boy…was I delightful surprised, the movie was extremely well done. I should of clued in, because the director of this movie is the same person behind “Last King Of Scotland” and that was an instant classic with the me. The movie has a triple powerhouse cast with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Racheal McAdams, pulling off all the stops.

In the movie Russell Crowe plays Cal McCaffrey, an old-school-style journalist working for the Washington Globe. He begins to investigate the death of a young woman who was the research assistant and mistress of his friend Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), an ambitious congressman whose career is likely ruined when his affair is revealed. Joined by young political blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), Cal races against time and deadlines to solve the murder, which may be only a small part of a much larger crime.

The blueprint of the film, sounds like your run of the mill suspense thriller (hence why it was going to be a passing time activity), but the strong performances and the plot twists had me glued to the TV begging for more. Smart, complex dramas constructed and performed with precision like this are too rare to pass up.

The movie also does a great of reflecting its current times with a plot that questions the validity and existence of newspapers in the face of bloggers and the 24-hour news cycle, as well as addressing the efforts of a Blackwater-like group working in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Macdonald’s film should also age remarkably well; Crowe’s Cal must reconcile his personal life with his professional one, and ethics lie at the heart of the movie.

Trailer

Popularity: 4% [?]

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