REVIEW - State Of Play

*** This review may contain spoilers ***


Washington: Up and coming politician Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is beginning talks with a major private security company when he is informed of the death of one of his staff. His emotional response threatens to damage not just the talks but also potentially his career and marriage. Meanwhile, his old friend Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), a reporter for the Washington Globe, is following the story of a young murdered black boy. It isn't long until the two events are mysteriously linked...

State Of Play started life as a brilliant six-part British television drama created by Paul Abbott who, among other projects, was responsible for Shameless and Clocking Off. It was high-edge, fast-paced and well executed, with an amazing cast including John Simm, David Morrissey and an award-winning Bill Nighy.

What's perhaps most interesting about THIS version is how well it transposes to the big screen without you really missing a lot of that. The storyline, though slightly modified, stays as sharp and tight as it did in the series. Washington looks spectacular as a setting for this, arguably the first big-budget political thriller to be set there since All The President's Men, which this clearly apes in several key moments, most notably the use of the infamous Watergate hotel by the private security company in a sly nod. What the film captures too is the feel of a newspaper at work as well as a newspaper under threat - even when the television series was made the impact of Internet Blogs and such were yet to be fully felt by newspapers. Now there is a real danger for all concerned that soon they will become very much obsolete, fears well portrayed in Helen Mirren's portrayal of the editor.

Sadly, though Mirren is very good, she is not on screen long enough to make the same kind of impact that Nighy was able to make in the original role. Robin Wright, as Collins' wife, is underused too, though this is because the secondary storyline in the series of a relationship between her and Cal is demoted here to a one night stand in the past. Also slightly wasted is Rachel McAdams, playing the role of Della that was played by Kelly MacDonald. Whereas there Della was more of a pro, here she is a newbie, a blogger being introduced to the world of real journalism. Her naivety sometimes grates with the rest of the film.

Much more convincing are Crowe and Affleck; the latter in particular makes up for the dodgy choices he has made film wise in the past and begins his long walk to triumph with a very fine performance. Crowe too shows us the same kind of dogged determination that he did in his brilliant performance in LA Confidential, though more world-weary. The supporting cast do well, although Jeff Daniels is relegated to a rather 2D politician; in particular Jason Bateman is very impressive as a slimy rich good-for-nothing who ends up involved in the case.

What is great about the film is that, for the most part, it can stand up on its own next to it's television cousin. Sadly, it just comes a little short to the expectations you might have for it based on its relative. Perhaps better to watch if you have never seen the show before.

7/10

The Brit Awards 2011

Awards season is well and truly upon us now - both the BAFTAs and the Grammys were on Sunday with few surprises, save how old Christopher Lee suddenly looks. Last night it was the turn of the BRITs. this year they had been revamped - new home (the O2 Arena), new look.

It would be fair to say that those who won awards did so because they earned them. Though the xx's brilliant Mercury-Prize winning album, XX, failed to pick up any gongs, Mumford & Sons were worthy enough winners of Album Of The Year. The Outstanding Contribution award has been ditched by the organisers, making this award now the most coveted of the evening. It had a nice twist to it, but when Roger Daltrey arrived to announce the winner of this award, you couldn't help but feel a pang of regret that we wouldn't see a classic star take to the stage and sing in celebration over their life's work for a few minutes.

Why the hell Justin Bieber was able to walk away with an award remains a mystery, and the proof that the BRITs mean business came in the announcement of several prizes for Arcade Fire, a band who would perhaps not even be nominated for something like an MTV Award, which always come from the people.

On the whole, this revamped BRITs was all about the music - stunning performances from Adele, Plan B and Tinnie Tempah, and an emotional speech from the voice of the new wave, Jessie J. Not bad - could be better.

On Your Own

A friend of mine recently went to watch a matinee performance of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, London; front row, Dress Circle. Nothing wrong with that, you may say - after all, Wicked is one of the few musicals of the first decade of the 21st century that seems to be standing the test of time, and good on it, with an interesting twisted script, some absolute belters to sing out loud, and a real family feel that one may not have felt could be made with a show since the glory days of Cats and (whisper it) Joseph.

But he went on his own. All on his todd. And he loved every minute of it.

This is not to say that this is wrong in any shape or form. Theatre is so important, such a vital, enjoyable form of entertainment, that if someone wants to go see a play/musical on their own then why stop them? But then why was I surprised to hear him say this? Why am I reluctant to go to a show I really want to see if nobody else is particularly interested?

It's the same with the cinema. I have rarely gone to see a film without being with a minimum of one other person. The only worthy instance was The Dark Knight, the day that it was released in cinemas - but then I was supposed to have gone to see it with a friend who suddenly became unavailable. My need to see the film was so great that I actually decided to go and see it anyway. Obviously I wasn't alone in the cinema - but I was surrounded by couples and groups of people.

Is there some kind of embarrassment factor when we go to a Box Office of a theatre/cinema and ask for a ticket for one? Do we hear the silent laughter in their minds, see the silent mockery in their eyes when they hand us that solitary piece of card? They're happy for the business you have provided for them, but that perhaps doesn't stop your appearing to them as a Billy No mates character.

This is possibly a lot of personal paranoia. At the end of the day there are plenty of people who go to the cinema/theatre on their own. But I honestly believe that these establishments are so much more than that; their very purpose, very design is to bring people together in one unifying act, either film or play, to entertain and to educate. it's a social experience - we love to talk to them before and after the film, or in the interval, to get their first-hand impressions, their opinions. We love to agree or disagree with them. We love to laugh together, we love to sing along together and we love to cry together.

Society needs these institutions. They have become the new pub, the new working man's club. Sadly prices do nothing to help their cause, but then a trip to one of them becomes more of an event, of a day/night out, something to truly remember. If you want to go on your own then absolutely fine - enjoy it, embrace it. Personally, unless anyone else is free, I'm more than happy to wait until the DVD comes out.

The Electric Proms - RIP

So after five moderately successful years, the BBC has decided to end the series of concerts dubbed the Electric Proms. These were usually an eclectic mixture of old and new artists, with the majority of the performances taking place at the magnificent Roundhouse in London.

One could possibly have seen the signs that things were looking bad for the Electric Proms last year; only three artists took part - Elton John, Robert Plant and Neil Diamond - all with new albums to plug. Gone were the glory days of The Who, Shirley Bassey or even (god help us) Oasis. It didn't matter who it was; their performances on this stage were always electrifying. No pun intended.

These concerts also gave the artists the opportunity to work with groups they wouldn't normally have done so in your average, run-of-the-mill concert, working with orchestras or choirs, or sometimes both (steady now). Sadly, even these twists were lacking last time around.

The head of Radio 2, who championed the concerts, said that there was a better, more cost efficient way of staging these shows. Sadly, it has all come down to money once again. The Electric Proms haven't been with us long enough to invoke an uproar of anguish from the public over their cancellation, something that would no doubt happen if the Proms were given the same fate. It is merely sad, and hopefully something can be created out of their ashes.

John Barry - 1933-2011

John Barry made James Bond recognisable. Though legally he was never credited with writing the famous tune for one of the longest running film franchises in history, his arrangement of it for the first film, Dr.No, was to literally bring the character to life in our imaginations whenever we hear it. Like the spy himself the tune is sexy, brooding, fast, dangerous.

All in all, Barry composed the scores for 11 of the films in the series. Not all of them were masterpieces, though it is fair to say that the weakest of the films have the weakest of the scores - perhaps there is something to be said about inspiration for a film composer if the film he is composing for isn't all that good. Yet the ones that stand out are the true classics, the giants of film scores: the urgent brass of Goldfinger, the romantic, lush strings of You Only Live Twice, the sense of something new in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Of course, Barry didn't just work on Bond films. His haunting themes for Out Of Africa or Midnight Cowboy brilliantly sum up the moods and plots of the respective features. His last Oscar winner, Dances With Wolves, was possibly the one Oscar that the film genuinely deserved to win.

His influences are felt all over the place - his true successor, David Arnold, certainly encapsulates the Barry feel to his Bond scores. It was a shame that he could not have worked on another one, and, though exciting enough the Michael Giacchinho score is, the rumoured score that Barry could have written for The Incredibles would have given the film a lot more class.