Affairs of State

Pretty good and steamy political drama. But as usual anything coming from Hollywood the movie leans Left and the corrupt and conniving characters in the film are actively a conservative belonging to a third way, quasi-Republican political party called, the United Party. However the movie steers away from hammering rhetoric and instead revolves on the characters and their actions which is quite decent and surprising considering the reactions and political climate we are in today in the United States.

Let me save you 97 minutes of your life that you can't get back. The writing is derivative, trite, and predictable. The performances lacked any sort of cohesiveness. The directing felt uneven and the pacing absurdly sluggish. The music didn't help the story at all, in fact it was downright annoying at times. The shots were clumsy and to be honest it wouldn't surprise me if this was made on some sort of smart phone or similar. Unfortunately I can't say anything redemptive about this or I'd be lying.

State of Affairs was well received, it had a strange detachment to it where one felt a fly on the wall... pretty much one becomes a spy camera in the movie and it's definitely immersive. The strangest thing about the movie was it felt like being in the moment, as all good writer's director's and producer's aim to be, to create an atmosphere whereby one feels connected to the sentiments and drives or hopes and of course fears of the human condition. Usually, when a film makes you face certain truths, this can inspire one to reassess one's own life and, particularly relating to greed and sexual corruption. I think this movie can be undervalued by many when not realising that with so much power that can come to one, one becomes fragile and transparent. This is where truth illuminates us all. How do we transcend the depravity of sex, drugs and rock and roll? State of Affairs makes a generous expose of who we are behind the mask...

Good looking, ambitious young politico sleeps and blackmails his way onto a Conservative presidential campaign and quickly reaps the whirlwind. This ultra-low-budget (it looks like it was shot with a camcorder), pseudo-sophisticated wanna-be thriller wears its politics on its sleeve. Once again, the Right is inherently evil. At one point a black character - a wealthy, hip hop impresario - tells a man of the Right that even if many blacks do share his Conservative values, "We still just n*****s to you." And the right-wing guy agrees with him! (He does everything but twirl a mustache) Another character - moderately selfish, yes, but compared with the others, a voice of reason - - has an extended riff about how the United Party (a stand-in for the GOP) is a bunch of "fascists" in favor of "selling guns to 7-year-olds and laughing while the cops shoot people in the street." Swell. Now, are there unsympathetic Progressives in this movie? Sure. A few. But their POLITICS are never questioned. But of course, no professional critic so far has mentioned this. Why? Because critics are Progressive themselves (most of them), and fish don't know they're wet. In their minds, it's simply a GIVEN that the Right is evil - duh! - so portraying them as such is simply hewing to reality, and hardly worth the mention. But I'll lay odds that if the LEFT was being portrayed this way, they'd definitely be writing about it. And deducting points accordingly. So I'll deduct points myself for the shameless bias ... as well as the threadbare production values, the incredibly lame plotting (a clandestine meeting in an underground parking structure? Are you kidding me??), the sometimes-good/often-mediocre dialogue, and the utter lack of suspense. Credit where it's due, though: It's refreshing to see a woman over 60 (Mimi Rogers) playing a sexually vital character, and the young lead (David Corenswet) gives a good performance. C-

"Affairs of State" is a "House of Cards"-style film with a set of malevolent and power-hungry politicos in Washington, D.C. The action is set in motion by the team of Michael Lawson and his roommate Callie, who, unable to pay the rent on their apartment, engage in a string of dastardly acts, setting in motion a conflict for the rising political star John Boland Baines. Baines has started a new, conservative political party, and Michael sleeps his way into the position of campaign assistant. Nearly all of the characters are sleazy with everyone looking for an angle. The one breath of fresh air would appear to be Baines' daughter Darcy, who takes an instant liking to Michael. Her only flaw is that she may have an out-of-control temper, as apparent when she stabbed her stepmother. Unfortunately, Michael has already begun an affair with the stepmother, a Mrs. Robinson-type character. Michael is confused, especially when Darcy asks him never to betray or embarrass her father. Michael's roommate Callie is a specialist in technology and a super paparazzi, secretly recording trysts with the politicians and judges, then selling the footage to the tabloids. It is inevitable that Callie will eventually come around to betraying her roommate by filming him with Mrs. Baines. The film builds some good tension with the major dramatic question of whether Michael will be able to redeem himself in the eyes of Darcy. While "Affairs of State" lacks the imagination and devious nature of "House of Cards," it nonetheless has some intriguing characters and builds good suspense.

The filmmakers were obviously attempting to piggyback on the current political environment but unfortunately this film fails in nearly all areas. The lead actor, David Corenswet, does an abysmal job and is not one bit believable in the role. The other characters come off like caricatures and the dialogue is endlessly littered with cliches. Most annoying was the cinematography which makes it appear like it was shot with an inexpensive camcorder. The film's budget was likely in the $100-150k range and it shows throughout. This is C-level straight to Netflix dreck that should be missed.

Ignore all the bad reviews. Most of them are upset because of their political views. I am not political at all and was able to watch this movie not really caring about political views but focusing on the story. It wasn't great, but at the same time it was not bad. Some people were expecting a thriller. Not sure why as it was clearly listed as a drama. The acting was good, and the story line very believable. The ending a bit sad and left me wanting a bit more. Overall I give it a 6.2

Every director and producer knows (or at least should) that any decent film starts with a decent script. The best actors in the world can't save crappy writing. Not that this film had uber acting talents splashed across the screen anyway, but just saying. There is no shortage of stupidity in Hollywood. None so more obvious and on full display than in Affairs of State, an exercise in such blatant mediocrity and bland storytelling that it makes one wonder if anyone even bothered reading the poor writer's material prior to filming. If you like yourself, heed the advice of everyone who has reviewed this manure.....it REALLY is that bad.

Political drama with no new ground covered. Stale dialogue and forced performances relegate this to the level of garbage found within the lowest rated video titles crammed on to sites like netflix. Adrien Grenier and Mimi Rogers careers have gone nowhere lately and this effort most certainly won't help their cause. I can't see any point in making mediocre films like this. Avoid 1/10.

I only made it about 20 minutes into this pig. Good thing I got it free from the library. I am only out 20 minutes of my life.