Mamet's State and Main

"State and Main" is a film about the adventures of making a movie in a small Vermont town. The movie being made is "The Old Mill" and Waterford, Vt. is chosen because it has an old mill. Or had an old mill. The mill burned down in 1960 and this causes considerable humorous scrambling around for a new script and title.

Alec Baldwin plays the leading actor who has one very bad habit: he pursues girls who are underage. This causes the movie to be moved to Vermont as the crew was chased out of New Hampshire. The director of the inner movie is played beautifully by William Macy (Fargo) and it is through the director that we see the incredible headaches of making a movie.

Sara Jessica Parker plays a dingy lead actress who has found religion and therefore won't show her breasts unless her pay is increased.

To me, the actual leading man of the film is Philip Seymour Hoffman who plays Joseph White, the writer and re-writer of "The Old Mill". He falls in love with the local bookstore owner (Ann Black) and the two of them save the inner movie.

There are several other excellent performances by Charles Durning as a befuddled mayor and Patti Lapone as his rather ruthless wife.

Best of all, Mamet utilizes real town folks in roles that are more than walking scenery.

The film is definitely dialogue-oriented. Not much time is spent on scenery but it is funny and intelligent and I wholly recommend it.