Yet another plump and ruffled version of Russell Crowe as Cal McAffrey, seasoned journalist for the Washington Globe whose biggest story seems to be fighting his editor (Helen Mirren) about how young bloggers – like Della Frye(Rachel McAdams) – can sprout off online without so much as researching their stories. That is until Sonia Baker, lead researcher for a Senate committee is found dead after being hit by a Metro train. Enter Representative Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) who seems a little too moved by her death. Or as he tells Crowe, also his roommate from back in college “She was beautiful, funny, smart – it just snuck up on me.” Soon it’s apparent there’s a bigger story and it’s not the fact that his wife (Robin Wright Penn) wants to divorce him. At the same time Senator Fergus (Jeff Daniels) is trying to cover everything up while hot shot P.R. man (Jason Bateman) might have all the answers. Well cast and smartly written everybody seems ideal for their roles, but it’s Russell Crowe whose performance rises above the rest. Written by many writers including “Michael Clayton’s” Tony Gilroy who knows corporate espionage plots, this one is well-delivered with surprising twists down to the last scene,which turns out to be just one too many. Nevertheless a smart adult drama which is hard to come by these days. Three tiaras
