360 Staff Pick: State of Play

 

The movie starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck doesn’t hold a candle to the gripping BBC series on which it was based.  A newspaper investigates the death of a young woman, uncovering layer after layer of intrigue in the process. The plot is watertight and the pace is riveting. Bill Nighy is sublime as the newspaper editor; James MacAvoy plays his black sheep reporter-son.