State Of Play : Complete BBC Series 1 [2003] [DVD]

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Starring: ~ John Simm, Kelly MacDonald James McAvoy
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Product Details:

Studio: 2 Entertain Video

Region: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Format: PAL,

Rating:

Sales Rank: 282

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Customer Reviews:

Journalists must laugh their socks off when they see this stuff (14 February 2010)
I found this a collection of cliches from start to finish. The plucky young reporters who'll stop at nothing to get to THE TRUTH as if investigative journalism hadn't been seen off when most newspapers changed hands in the 1980s. The idea that the hero was once a labour agent - does nobody know what an election agent looks like? He's certainly not a nice young man!

John Simm, who we know can act brilliantly, stumbles through the plot as though he were given the script an hour before filming. And I'm sure there's an inconsistency in the post-mortem story but I can't be bothered to sit through it all again to check.

So just 3 stars out of 5, and that's generous.

A jolly good watch (11 February 2010)
An intriguing and intense political thriller, with good characters and acting. well worth a watch

An absolutely superb thriller (08 February 2010)
I hate conspiracy theories. They are crass and stupid so most political thrillers tend to become at best ludicrous. But this is superb. A taut intelligent drama which keeps you guessing without ever getting silly.

After the death of a young political researcher and the gunning down of a teenager and courier in London the press kick in to action. Reporter Cal McCaffrey (Jon Simm) is the old friend and political agent of Government Junior Minister Stephen Collins (Morrissey) the researcher's boss. Morrissey is working on a report into the oil industry and a big oil company looms ever present in the background as a sinister but largely unseen adversary. McCaffrey finds evidence which links the murders and the researcher's death but as he begins to join the dots much more begins to fall out of the cupboard including his own feelings for Collins' wife. At the same time a hitman remains on the loose and the police on the warpath when they realise that the newspaper has been withholding information.

The two central performances are excellent as is the tension between two old friends who need each other but don't necessarily like each other that much anymore. All of the characters have depth and the complex relationships within the newspaper offices are particularly good. Bill Nighy's editor's disdain for James McAvoy's cub reporter is especially good. So often these kind of relationships are just pointless tack ons but here they really work as does the transformation of Kelly MacDonald's character after she realizes how much danger she's placed herself in.

If you enjoy thrillers, have more than a five minute attention span and don't require big explosions throughout then I heartily recommend this.

state of play (19 January 2010)
Excellent plot and cast. Plenty of twists and time for speculation about conspiracy theroy. Bill Nighy is fantastic, as are all the journalists.

State of Play - An absolute 'Must See.' (14 January 2010)
Taut, edgy, uncompromising script, acting and direction exposes the dark interface between hard core political spin and investigative journalism. It tells the story of a newspaper's investigation into the death of a young woman, focussing on the relationship between the leading journalist (Sim)and his old friend, (Morrisey) a Member of Parliament and the woman's employer.
Morrisey is utterly convincing as the ambitious, weak politico;Simm, every inch the slightly seedy but talented hack. A hugely talnted cast with performances to remember,but the ultimate credit goes to extraordinarily talented writer Paul Abbott; tight as a drum, this is already a classic.

Sharp as. Brilliant. Compulsive viewing, I watched the whole thing in one long, tense night! Get it now.