December 14, 2000 -- "State and Main" is a dark comedy about the chaos which reigns when a movie production company descends unannounced into a small New England town. It is like a tornado hits the town. Everything is changed, except the movie people.

The production company actually comes to the town by mistake, thinking there is an old mill there. The film "The Old Mill" has gone over budget and the existence of the mill would save money. The director, Walt Price (played by William H. Macy of "Magnolia"), seeks a filming permit from the mayor, named, of all names, George Bailey (played by Charles Durning). The mayor's wife, in turn, wants the film's stars and top brass over for dinner.

The story centers around "The Old Mill" screenwriter Joseph Turner White (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman of "The Talented Mr. Ripley") and a local store owner, Ann Black (Rebecca Pidgeon of "The Winslow Boy"). The two are instantly attracted to one another. Then there's the usual complications, but Black's reaction to those complications are quite original. Black's boyfriend, Doug MacKenzie (Clark Gregg of "Magnolia") who is quickly dumped, decides to get some payback. He finds out that the star of the show, Bob Barrenger (Alec Baldwin of "The Edge"), is fond of statutory rape and a local girl is only too happy to oblige. MacKenzie decides to make political hay when Barrenger wrecks a car while driving drunk, accompanied by a girl less than 18 years old.

White is a witness to the accident. White is told by Price that if he lies to police and the courts about what he saw, he will be guaranteed more work in Hollywood. If he tells the truth, he will be blackballed in the movie industry. The resolution to White's dilemma is unusual, to say the least. It is not what you would expect. There is also an over-sexed starlet, Claire Wellesley (Sarah Jessica Parker of the "Sex and the City" TV series) and a determined producer/lawyer, Marty Rossen (David Paymer of "Bounce").

Only Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rebecca Pidgeon (writer-director David Mamet's wife) have any down-to-earth humanity in their characters. The rest seem so phony that they glide along without ever causing a ripple of emotion one way or another. Their mendacity is so ingrained you never know if you are seeing a true emotion. Director Mamet ("The Winslow Boy," "The Spanish Prisoner") has written a very clever, yet at the same time, cool, emotionless script. The result is a pretty low-key comedy. It is amusing, and, at times, funny. The film rates a C+.

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