State and Main

A comedy about a film crew arriving in a small town. A Hollywood production settles in a town in Vermont to shoot. The script turns on an old mill there. Once the crew arrives it emerges that the mill burned down years ago. The writer is told to rewrite the story without the mill. Someone else is watching that request: the leading actress remembers a clause in her contract and says she will not do a nude scene. The male star has a habit involving young girls in the town and it becomes a problem. The town wants its share as well. The mayor tries to rent his house as a set, the shopkeepers raise prices and everyone suddenly expects something from the film. What the film is interested in is the everyday form of lying: a small lie is told, then another to hold the first, and soon everyone is working inside a lie. The dialogue is David Mamet's and the real strength is there; the lines run over each other and the characters do not listen. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker, Rebecca Pidgeon, Charles Durning and Julia Stiles are in the cast. An enjoyable production for anyone who likes comedy about cinema and sharp dialogue. For a viewer expecting high tempo, the film moves at the pace of the town.