A petty thief is gunned down in an alley and a Congressman's assistant falls in front of a subway – two seemingly unrelated deaths. But not to wisecracking, brash newspaper reporter Cal McAffrey who spies a conspiracy waiting to be uncovered. With a turbulent past connected to the Congressman and the aid of ambitious young rookie writer Della Frye, Cal begins uprooting clues that lead him to a corporate cover-up full of insiders, informants, and assassins. But as he draws closer to the truth, the relentless journalist must decide if it's worth risking his life and selling his soul to get the ultimate story.
Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Runtime: 127 minutes
Rating: 7.4/10 (16,394 votes)
Release Date: 17 April 2009
Country: USA, UK, France
Languages: English
Company: Andell Entertainment
Sound: DTS, Dolby Digital, SDDS
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some violence, language including sexual references, and brief drug content.
Director(s): Kevin Macdonald
Producer(s):
Paul Abbott – executive producer
Tim Bevan – producer
Liza Chasin – executive producer
Eric Fellner – producer
Andrew Hauptman – producer
Eric Hayes – co-producer
Debra Hayward – executive producer
Kwame Parker – associate producer
Jennifer J. Thomas – line producer: insert photography
E. Bennett Walsh – executive producer
Writer(s):
Matthew Michael Carnahan – (screenplay) and
Tony Gilroy – (screenplay) and
Billy Ray – (screenplay)
Paul Abbott – (television series)
Cast:
Russell Crowe – Cal McAffrey
Ben Affleck – Rep. Stephen Collins
Rachel McAdams – Della Frye
Helen Mirren – Cameron Lynne
Robin Wright Penn – Anne Collins
Jason Bateman – Dominic Foy
Jeff Daniels – Rep. George Fergus
Michael Berresse – Robert Bingham
Harry Lennix – Det. Donald Bell
Josh Mostel – Pete
Music: Alex Heffes
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Disappointing. Who ever decided to put Affleck in the same scenes asCrowe was trippin. Russel Crowe may have had bad hair, but he is suchan amazing and believable actor, and Affleck is like a cardboard cutout(with moveable jaw)against Crowes stellar talents. I cannot believeeven a smidgen of Crowe's magic did not rub off on Affleck! No wonderhe (Affleck) recently contributed to an article in my woman'smag!!!!Jeff Daniels is amazing in his portrayal of an eeriecongressman. When is this guy gonna get his due? He is soconvincing….and should have been revealed as the mastermind behindthe conspiracy! It would have been so much more rewarding to see moreof Daniels! Helen Mirren's character did not do her justice. She wassupposed to be a ball buster, but it was like she was playing it as aharassed weakling who would collapse, crying at any moment. I wantedher to just give it to Crowe's character, but all she kept doing wascaving. It was laughable when Crowe is trying to explain, scene afterscene, that there was a conspiracy to kill Sonja. A supposed tough asnails head of the Washington Post cannot see the fact that a personinvestigating a major military conspiracy might be offed? They alllaugh at Crowe, and they are all journalists…uh, aren't they supposedto be uncovering conspiracies at all times? No, Crowe is just being"crazy" again! Bateman was so much better than Affleck. Y not try himin Affleck's part? I found myself sympathizing with Bateman's characterand feeling his pain bcuz of Bateman's true emotion. Rachel Mac Adamsis useless, just smiling and looking chipper. Robin Wright Penn-she hada dead end role, and why did her hair look like a sort-of super longmullet? Not the type of styling of a congressman's wife in DC!! She wasjust a distraction in this film because the storyline with her wassuperfluous and never went anywhere. One of the best scenes I have seenis in this film. That is the stalking of Crowe in the parking garage bythe assassin. The guy who played the assassin was amazing, (MichaelBerresse)and if they just would have used him against Crowe in a simple"kill or be killed" plot, this would have been fantastic. Berresse isnot even speaking, he is just walking, and the way he moves hisbody/hands is scary and so effective. They wasted his talents when, inthe end he is filmed getting dressed geekishly and then dies quickly.He did not start out as a geek, he was truly frightening at the start!One more point is…why the heck was everyone sitting around socasually in the end? At the "Washington Globe" they all sit in front ofhuge glass windows chewing the fat, Crowe and Mac Adams sit arounddrinking whiskey…um… if they are supposed to be "bringing down thenations power structures" and everyone involved is getting killed,shouldn't they be hiding out somewhere or at least acting a littleconcerned???? (remember being stalked by the assassin, Russel?)What aclunker…but I will be faithful to Crowe, Mirren, Daniels, Bateman,and the killer Michael Berresse…I want to see him become a majorstar!!
Sorry, I just cannot abide the phoney "veritay" use of jittery camerato imitate documentary film. It's a style invented for TV and perfected(i.e., hit bottom) with US TV "Law & Order" series. What's the deal?"We have $100M to spend on a movie but we can't afford a tripod?" Sorry- it's stupid, it's demeaning, it's distracting, it's dizzying, it'spointless, and its sole purpose appears to be making up in phoneyveritay what it can't deliver in realitay, or is too cowardly toattempt delivering in real dramatic production.
Big yawn, couldn't get past 15 minutes due to the vacuum in its headand heart, plus the headache from its visuals.
There oughta be a law against the jitter machine that they used toreplace a cameraman in this bomb. Oh, and how about Helen Mirren'sphone-home performance? Way to go, everyone involved! Bet you're proudof the work. No?