State of Play (12A)

CAST an eye over Russell Crowe's recent career, if you will. Can anyone else spot a pattern emerging?

In 2007 he was a slightly overweight cop in American Gangster.

In 2008 he was a fat CIA analyst in Body Of Lies.

And in 2009, he's a Washington DC-based journalist with a gut like Jim Royle on Boxing Day.

Next year he's supposed to be the Sheriff of Nottingham in the new Robin Hood flick. But at this rate, the only role he'll be fit for is Friar Tuck.

Anyway, the Gladi-eater returns to our thankfully wide cinema screens next week for State Of Play, a bum- clenchingly tense thriller based on the highly praised 2003 BBC series of the same name.

And if you are what you eat, old Russ must have been chowing down on prime rump roast. Because his performance is juicy, rich-and absolutely worth sinking your teeth into.

Russell stars as Cal McAffrey, a grizzled crime hack at the Washington Globe newspaper.

An old-school investigative reporter, he's working on the edges of society and mixing with shady characters to bring in the big stories.

Problem is, he's a dying breed. And Cal increasingly sees his work being edged out by younger, net-savvy scribblers like political blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams). So when the pair are told to team up on a breaking story-on the orders of their ruthlessly sexy editor Helen Mirren, no less-neither of them is too happy.

HACKED OFF: In newsroom with Della (Rachel McAdams)

A young, female research assistant for congressman and rising political star Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) has died after falling under a subway train.

Police initially suspect suicide. But family-man Collins's emotional reaction to the death (he starts sobbing at an unrelated news conference) provokes a flurry of gossip that the pair were having a fling.

So what was the connection between Collins and his researcher?

And given that she was investigating a shadowy private military contractor working in the Middle East, could that have anything to do with her untimely death?

AND given Cal's close "friendship" with Collins's wife (Robin Wright Penn), will he have to compromise his personal life for professional integrity? Well, if not, we'd be in for a pretty cr*p movie.

So praise Buddha that the genius scriptwriters, who include Tony "Bourne trilogy" Gilroy and Peter "Frost/Nixon" Morgan, have stuck closely to the plot of Paul Abbott's original series. The end result is a thriller that's complex, mature and never less than utterly gripping.

Journalism has seldom been this exciting (I'm talking about the film here, not this review).

And having not seen the TV show, I can't comment on whether the movie is any better, or worse, than the much-praised original.

What I can say, however, is that the film version stands comfortably on its own two feet and never looks like a rehash or remake.

Plus, it's been cast to perfection. Russell is superb as Cal McAffrey (there are shades of his detective Richie Roberts from 2007's criminally underrated American Gangster), and Helen Mirren is spot-on as his wily boss.

Hell, even Affleck's all right.

Weirdest thing is, the journalist and congressman parts were originally destined for Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.

Both had to pull out because of scheduling problems, meaning for a while the two lead roles were left open. And thank feck Horne and Corden were busy with Lesbian Vampire Killers, because the parts eventually went to Russ and Ben- and they are both spot-on choices.

If fact, State Of Play is that rarest of movie happenings-a case of the PERFECT line-up of cast and behind-the-lens talent (as well as the writers, it's directed by Last King Of Scotland's Kevin Macdonald) lining up in a great big cosmic doodah thingy of brilliance.

As smart thrillers go, this is right up there with Michael Clayton.

And as one of the few films to get the newspaper trade "right", comparisons will also be drawn with All The President's Men, from the obvious plot links (mismatched pair of hacks uncover huge political conspiracy) to the end sequence (quiet shots of printing presses churning out Cal and Della's big scoop).

State Of Play is exactly the kind of serious film you want to see before the onslaught of summer fluff that's mere weeks away.

So get down to your local cinema and show Russell some dollar.

I mean, come on. The man's got to eat. Evidently.

OUT FRIDAY

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