This was one of those films that I only really watched because I was tired, it was late but not too late and I wanted to curl up on the sofa with something to do. I vaguely remember hearing about it when it came out but it was not advertised quite enough to catch my attention.
I was immediately impressed with Russell Crowe being the reporter and think the longer hair actually really suited him. Before now I’ve only really seen this guy in historical movies like Gladiator and Robin Hood so seeing him playing someone modern was quite a change.
On top of that Ben Affleck was actually pretty good as the infidelious politician. I could believe all the naughty things he got up to while at the same time suspect he might be innocent, and it helped to keep me guessing throughout the film.
The pacing was a little slow but the tension was perfect. I spent most of the film really expecting someone to get shot at any moment, which is rare. Normally I feel a bit more ‘safe’ about the good guy characters when watching a film.
I was informed after watching this that it is a remake of an older film which has made me quite curious to see the origional. Although I loved this casting and think Helen Mirren especially, would be difficult to live up to (I know, technically Helen Mirren is doing the living up to, but I saw this one first).
All in all, I think I’d have been dissapointed if I’d seen this film on the big screen. It’s got a sort of gentle plod to it but I still enjoyed it and really had to keep watching.