A flawed meditation on the modern press

When I came out, was I entertained? Sure. Did I know what I could do to become a great Washington reporter instead of a sloppy college newspaper writer? No.

The movie, a decent American adaptation of the 2003 BBC serial, has remained faithful to the original for the most part. Minor details have been changed or updated to allude to the overtaking of newspapers by media conglomerates and the slowing revenue stream of several national newspapers. Numerous subplots have been cut or abridged; as a result, twists and turns that made the original an interesting watch have been eliminated.

When the head researcher for Rep. Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) dies in a Washington subway station, her extramarital affair with Collins comes to light. On the other side of the media circus is Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe), Collins's college roommate and a traditional, old- time journalist at the fictional Washington Globe who despises the development of web content. When McAffrey discovers evidence of a corporate conspiracy - after all, what is a good journalism movie without some coverup? - he pairs up with the new version of himself, Della Frye (Rachel McAdams). Frye, a young reporter who blogs for the newspaper's website, never carries a pen, though she never really seems to be taking quotes down anyway.

While the two run around trying to prove the link between the researcher's death and a conspiracy involving a Blackwater-like company, they risk being killed by some psychotic, machine-gun wielding, ex-military man. What's worse, the large conglomerate that just took over the paper pressures its editor (Helen Mirren) to print all the news that's fit to sell. She begs them to hurry up and publish a story - any story.

The movie constantly pushes the current dilemma of print journalism in the audience's face at random points in the story. What happened to the separation of the business and editorial interests of the newspaper? What do media conglomerates mean for American journalism? Look at all the work and detail that go into one story - does anyone care anymore? McAffrey thinks so. "I still think they know the difference between real news and bullshit," he says. "And they're glad that someone cares enough to get things on the record and print the truth."

Despite this facade, the story doesn't really concern itself about the players involved in the current, real survival struggle of newspapers. Instead, it becomes a fast-paced storyline driven only by our fear that McAffrey and Frye will die before the truth is printed. The sparse storyline and banal score - consisting of strings, horn and the occasional timpani - are saved by the quality of acting. I am sure, though, that Crowe and McAdams in particular could have done more if provided with more material. Anyone hoping to see an updated version of the collaboration between Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman in "All the President's Men" will be sorely disappointed.

The new version of "State of Play" isn't terrible; in fact, it's quite American - shorter, simpler and more direct. By parsing the convoluted, lively, integrated subplots that constitute the original, the screenwriters present a centralized, vapid story and gloss over narratives that could have made it more fascinating. Rather than have the reporters figure things out by themselves, the movie accelerates the development of the story and sometimes belabors insignificant points by having sources tell our pair of fearless journalists point blank what is at stake.

If only the truth was as straightforward.