Friday Flashback: Rec. #104: State of Play

I decided to start doing Friday Flashbacks in case you missed some early posts the first time around. You're busy; I understand.

What: State of Play is possibly the most suspenseful thriller about research that's ever been made. Newspaper reporters chase a story that starts with an apparent suicide and an apparent drug hit, and that leads them quickly into personal, political, and corporate dirt. Soon all the characters, no matter how well-intentioned, are mired in corruptions both big and small. No one gets away completely clean.

Comparable to: As in All the President's Men, the minutiae and occasional glory of newspaper reporting becomes heroic.

Representative quote [imagine this whisper-growled by Bill Nighy]: "It's a big story. Big day. Big hitters."

You might not like it if: State of Play has a brilliant script, a well-paced plot, non-gimmicky twists, fully developed characters, a sustained momentum of suspense, and a fantastic cast (John Simm, David Morrissey, Kelly Macdonald, Bill Nighy, Deborah Findlay, James McAvoy, Polly Walker). I don't know what else you could want. Seriously, right now the only negative review on Amazon is someone complaining about the swearing.

How to get it: Go for the original British miniseries (2003) and not the U.S. movie version (2009). I mean, watch the movie later if you want, but please start with this.

Connection to previous Wreckage: Creator Paul Abbott definitely has his favorite actors. He gives James McAvoy a scene-stealing part here, and a year later used him again in the marvelous Shameless (Rec. #14). Also, I consider my favorite episode from Shameless (episode 1.4) "the State of Play episode."

[Originally posted 4/14/11.]