Affairs of State - Intrighi di Stato

I was expecting a thriller. Instead my hubby and I sat through a horribly made drama that had us dozing off throughout. The writing was very weak and tries to lecture you about how greedy and corrupt Conservative politicians are in D.C. This felt more like a very low-grade Lifetime movie for TV.

If you put aside the politics, the story was completely unispiring and uninteresting, poorly crafted and absurd. Like others have mentioned, the production values were subpar. The acting was fairly flat across the board. The lead actor, an unknown, didn't have much range unless you call bending down to remove your pants, range.

When the credits rolled (which was the best part), we actually felt quite sorry...not for ourselves for sitting through this hot mess...but for the people who actually spent time and money making it. Poor souls...perhaps they should've become politicians instead. Giving this 1 star out of 10.

Has a few good actors such as Thora Birch and Adrian Greneir, the lead has a flat performance throughout with his character written as a highly irrational man who easily gives into his desires without realizing the personal risks involved and hence the movie revolves around his irrational decisions. Would have been a more interesting movie if it only revolved around Thora Birch and Adrian Greneir, but it would not have been sensational then, a lack of intelligent writing to put it simply.

Thriller? NOPE! Boring? YEP! Compelling writing? NOPE! Horribly directed? YEP! (although even a competent director couldn't have save this POS). Good performances? NOPE! Wishing I never saw a 70 year old actress trying to have sex? YEP! Waste of ninety minutes and endless brain cells? DOUBLE YEP!

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.

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.