| Movie DescriptionOne night, a thief fleeing through Washington, D.C. is shot by a man carrying a briefcase. A pizza delivery man who witnesses the incident is also shot by the killer and is left in a coma.
The following morning, a young woman is killed by a subway train in an apparent suicide. Congressman Stephen Collins (Affleck) of Pennsylvania is distraught to hear the news, as the woman was Sonia Baker, a lead researcher on his staff. Collins, who has military experience, is leading an investigation into PointCorp, a private defense contractor with controversial operations involving mercenaries.
Reporter Cal McAffrey (Crowe) was Collins' college roommate. Collins reveals to McAffrey that he had been having an extramarital affair with Sonia and that she had sent him a cheerful video message on the morning of her death, which he believes is inconsistent behavior for someone about to commit suicide.
Della Frye (McAdams), a reporter and blogger with the online division of Cal's newspaper, discovers that Sonia's death occurred in one of only three CCTV blind spots on the subway platform. Cal believes the shootings are related to Sonia's death and finds a link between the thief and a homeless girl who sought out Cal. She gives him photographs that the thief, a friend of hers, stole from the killer's briefcase. The photos show surveillance images of Sonia talking to a well-dressed man.
Della visits the hospital where the pizza delivery man is regaining consciousness. While at his room she witnesses the pizza delivery man shot dead by an unseen sniper. Later, she reviews CCTV footage and recognizes a man she met at the hospital.
It is revealed that PointCorp stands to gain $40 billion annually from its mercenary activities in the Middle East and domestically. Cal speaks with Collins, who shares his research findings -— PointCorp is cooperating with other defense contractors to create a monopoly and purchase government surveillance and defense contracts, essentially privatizing United States security.
Cal's PointCorp insider returns with the address of someone linked to the suspected assassin. Cal finds the assassin living there. Cal calls the police, who force the man to disappear after he shoots at Cal.
Della, following a lead, finds the identity of the well-dressed man speaking to Sonia in the photographs. He is a PR executive working for a subsidiary of PointCorp. Cal blackmails him into talking about his activities with Sonia and secretly tapes their conversation. The PR executive reveals that Sonia was paid to spy on Collins for PointCorp, but that she fell in love with Collins and was pregnant with his baby when she was killed.
Before Cal's newspaper goes to press, Collins goes on record to present his research into PointCorp. Collins' wife Anne reveals that she knows about the money paid to Sonia. After the couple leaves, Cal realizes that Collins knew already that Sonia was working for PointCorp. Cal then wonders what Collins would have done had he known he had been tricked and whether Collins himself is connected with the assassin.
A picture of Collins from his military days, with the assassin in the frame, confirms Cal's hunch. Collins reveals that he had been suspicious of Sonia, and that he hired the assassin to watch her. The assassin is U.S. Army Corporal Bingham, whose life Collins had once saved. Collins says that Bingham did not trust Sonia and killed her with no authorization from him.
Cal tells Collins that he has three minutes to leave his office before the police arrive, as he has already contacted them. Cal is confronted by Bingham. Officers arrive and shoot Bingham before he opens fire.
At the office, Cal and Della type up their story with an altered version of Bingham's death (the story indicates that Bingham had committed suicide) and noting that Collins was arrested. |
