百年50部英文燒腦電影賞析:[38]State of Play 國家要案

One night, a thief fleeing through Georgetown in Washington, D.C. is shot by a man carrying a briefcase. A pizza delivery man who witnesses the incident is also shot by the killer and is left in a coma. The following morning, a young woman is killed by a Washington Metro train in an apparent suicide. Congressman Stephen Collins（Ben Affleck）of Pennsylvania is distraught to hear the news, he claims because the woman was Sonia Baker（Maria Thayer）, a lead researcher on his staff. Collins, who has military experience, is leading an investigation into PointCorp, a private defense contractor with controversial operations involving mercenaries. Collins tells his old friend Cal McAffrey（Russell Crowe）, an investigative reporter, that he had been having an affair with Sonia and that she had sent him a cheerful video message on the morning of her death, which he says is inconsistent and unusual behavior for someone about to commit suicide. Della Frye（Rachel McAdams）, a reporter and blogger with the online division of Cal's newspaper and its editor, Cameron Lynne（Helen Mirren）, discover that Sonia's death occurred in one of only three CCTV blind spots in the Metro camera system. Cal believes the shootings are related to Sonia's death and finds a link between the petty thief and a homeless girl who sought out Cal. The homeless girl gives him photographs that the thief, a friend of hers, had stolen from the killer's briefcase. The photos show surveillance images of Sonia talking to a well-dressed man. Della visits the hospital where the pizza delivery man is regaining consciousness. While at his room she witnesses the pizza delivery man shot dead by an unseen sniper. Later, she reviews CCTV footage and recognizes a man she saw at the hospital.
It is revealed that PointCorp stands to gain $40 billion annually from its mercenary activities in the Middle East and domestically. Cal speaks with Collins, who shares his research findings — PointCorp is cooperating with other defense contractors to create a monopoly and purchase government surveillance and defense contracts, essentially privatizing United States security from the government. Cal's PointCorp insider returns with the address of someone linked to the suspected assassin. Cal finds the assassin living there and calls the police, who force the man to disappear after he shoots at Cal.
Della, following a close lead, finds the identity of the well-dressed man who was speaking to Sonia in the listed photographs. He is Dominic Foy（Jason Bateman）, a PR executive working for a subsidiary of PointCorp. Cal blackmails him into talking about his activities with Sonia and secretly tapes their conversation. The PR executive reveals that Sonia was actually paid to spy on Collins and seduce him to get informations for PointCorp, but then she fell in love with Collins and she was already pregnant with his child when she was killed.
Before Cal's newspaper goes to press, Collins goes on record to present his research into PointCorp. Collins' wife Anne（Robin Wright Penn）reveals that she knows the amount of money Sonia received from PointCorp, after just hearing Collins' statement to the newspaper. After the couple leaves, Cal realizes that Collins knew already that Sonia was working for PointCorp. Cal then wonders what Collins would have done had he known he had been tricked and whether Collins himself is connected with Sonia's assassin. A picture of Collins from his military days, with the assassin in the frame, confirms Cal's hunch. Collins reveals that he had been suspicious of Sonia, and that he hired the assassin to watch her. The assassin is U.S. Army Corporal Robert Bingham（Michael Berresse）, whose life Collins had once saved. Collins says that Bingham hated PointCorp more than he did and he killed Sonia with no authorization from him.
Cal tells Collins that he has three minutes to leave his office before the police arrive, as he has already contacted them. As he leaves the building, Cal is confronted by Bingham. Officers arrive and shoot Bingham before he opens fire. Cal leaves and goes to his office. There, Cal and Della type up their own story, noting that Collins was secured and arrested.
一天晚上，一個在華盛頓特區(qū)喬治城的在逃小偷被一個拿著手提箱的人開槍殺死。一個目睹了這件事的披薩送貨員也被兇手擊中陷入昏迷。第二天早上，一個年輕的女人被一列華盛頓地鐵撞死，看上去是自殺。賓夕法尼亞州的議員斯蒂芬·柯林斯（本·阿弗萊克飾）為這個消息抓狂，他聲稱這是因為這個女人是索尼婭·貝克（瑪利亞·泰耶爾飾），她是他手下一個重要的研究員。有軍事經驗的柯林斯正在帶隊調查頂點集團，這是一個涉及雇傭兵并進行廣受爭議的經營的私人國防承包商?？铝炙垢嬖V他的老朋友，一個調查記者卡爾·麥克阿弗里（羅素·克勞飾），他和索尼婭有私情，并且在她死的那天早上，索尼婭還給他發(fā)了一個愉快的視頻信息，他說這在一個打算自殺的人身上是矛盾和不尋常的。 黛拉·弗萊（瑞秋·麥克亞當斯飾）是卡爾所在報社網(wǎng)上部門的記者兼博主，她和編輯卡梅倫·林恩（海倫·米倫飾）發(fā)現(xiàn)索尼婭死在地鐵攝像系統(tǒng)閉路電視僅有的三個盲點中的一個。卡爾認為當天的射擊與索尼婭的死有關系，并且發(fā)現(xiàn)了小偷與找到卡爾的無家可歸的女孩之間的聯(lián)系。這個無家可歸的女孩將那個小偷從兇手手提箱里偷來的照片給了卡爾。這個小偷是她的一個朋友。這些照片顯示了索尼婭和一個穿著考究的男人對話的監(jiān)視圖象。黛拉拜訪了重新恢復意識的披薩送貨員所在的醫(yī)院。然而，在送貨員的房間里，她發(fā)現(xiàn)他被一個看不見的狙擊兵殺死了。稍后，她回顧了閉路電視的連續(xù)錄像，認出了她在醫(yī)院看見的一個男人。
據(jù)披露，頂點集團每年都可以從中東和國內的雇傭活動中獲得400億美元的收益。卡爾與柯林斯交談，柯林斯與他分享調查發(fā)現(xiàn)，原來頂點集團正在和其他的國防承包商合作來形成壟斷，購買政府的監(jiān)督防御合同，本質上是將美國的安全從政府那里私有化了?？栐陧旤c集團的內線帶回了與刺客嫌疑人有聯(lián)系的某人的地址?？柊l(fā)現(xiàn)刺客在那里生活，并且叫來了警察，在刺客向卡爾開槍之后，警察的出現(xiàn)讓刺客被迫消失了。

黛拉跟蹤一個親近的領導，發(fā)現(xiàn)了列出的照片中與索尼婭交談的衣著考究的男人的身份。他是多米尼克·佛伊（杰森·貝特曼飾），頂點集團的一個子公司的公關經理?？柪账魉屗f出他和索尼婭的活動，并且偷偷將他們的對話錄音了。這個公關經理透露說，實際上索尼婭是被雇來監(jiān)視并引誘柯林斯的，以便為頂點集團獲取信息，但是她愛上了柯林斯，當她被殺的時候，她已經懷了他的孩子。
在卡爾的報紙付印之前，柯林斯公開表明要介紹他對于頂點集團的調查。聽了柯林斯在報紙上的聲明之后，柯林斯的妻子安妮（羅賓·萊特·潘飾）指出，她知道索尼婭從頂點集團得到了多少錢，這對夫妻離開后，卡爾意識到柯林斯早已知道索尼婭是為頂點集團工作的?？栂胫揽铝炙怪雷约罕或_之后做過什么，他是否也與暗殺索尼婭有關聯(lián)。柯林斯當兵時代的一張有暗殺者在其中的照片證實了卡爾的預感?？铝炙固拱渍f他已經在懷疑索尼婭，并且雇傭了暗殺者去監(jiān)視她。這個暗殺者是美國陸軍下士羅伯特·賓漢姆（邁克爾·比利斯飾），柯林斯曾經救過他的命?？铝炙拐f賓漢姆比自己更恨頂點集團，他在未經自己許可的情況下殺死了索尼婭。
卡爾告訴柯林斯，在警察到來之前，他有三分鐘可以離開他的辦公室，因為他已經聯(lián)系警察了。當他離開這幢樓時，卡爾碰到了賓漢姆。警察們來了，并且在賓漢姆開槍之前開槍了。卡爾離開，回到自己的辦公室。在那里，卡爾和黛拉將他們自己的故事打印成稿，上面注明柯林斯被捕了。