State of Play

Handsome, unflappable U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is the future of his political party: an honourable appointee who serves as the chairman of a committee overseeing defence spending. All eyes are upon the rising star to be his party's contender for the upcoming presidential race, until his research assistant/mistress is brutally murdered and buried secrets come tumbling out. Cal McCaffrey (Russel Crowe) has the dubious fortune of both an old friendship with Collins and a ruthless editor, Cameron (Oscar winner Helen Mirren), who has assigned him to investigate. As he and partner Della (Rachel McAdams) try to uncover the killer's identity, McCaffrey steps into a cover-up that threatens to shake the nation's power structures. And in a town of spin-doctors and wealthy politicians, he will discover one truth: when billions are at stake, no one's integrity, love or life is ever safe. (Universal Pictures UK)