The Ides of March

The Ides of March (2011)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124035/

George Clooney's political drama, The Ides of March, is a behind-the-scenes look at the race for the Democratic presidential nomination during the Ohio primary. Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is an idealistic press secretary working for Governor Mike Morris (no relation, played by Clooney), a like-minded liberal presidential candidate. Morris' campaign manager and Meyers' boss, Paul Zata (Philip Seymour Hoffman), works directly against Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), opposing candidate Senator Pullman's (Michael Mantell) lead man. Meyers' journey through a number of potentially career-ending events starts to alter his perception of ideals, and his perception of the political world. Not to be confused with a political thriller, this story pulls us through the mud, as we discover how dirty a presidential race can be.



George Clooney often picks subdued stories to tell. From Confessions of a Dangerous Mind to Good Night, and Good Luck, he focuses more on the inner workings of the man, not on the action around him. The Ides of March follows suit by taking us through the life of Stephen Meyers, as he grows from bright-eyed do-gooder to a more realistic politician when he uncovers some dirty secrets, and creates a few of his own. Clooney also co-wrote the script, which is outstanding. The portrayal of how our political system works is downright scary. But there's no mystery here. We all have our ideas of how the political system works, and this film tackles a very familiar scandal. Through lies and deceit, game-playing and backstabbing come our leaders; the ones we trust to run our country and look out for our safety. It shows us that the thirst for power is a peculiar thing. These men aren't in it for the money - they're already rich. They mention a "million a year" salary at a consulting firm with disdain if it means not being part of the presidency. They'll do whatever it takes to get what they want, even if it means turning on their own. Although this is not a very original story, the characters make it work.

To talk about each cast member in detail would take three pages, so I'll just mention a bit about the major players. This star-studded cast is full of Oscar nominations and wins, so we come to expect great things, and they don't fail to deliver. George Clooney here is just George Clooney, and that's not a bad thing. Clooney doesn't have a whole lot of range as to the type of characters he can play, but the confident, powerful leader type he plays extremely well. Ryan Gosling is in the same boat. He doesn't vary much from role to role, always playing the introverted yet aggressive, almost bipolar guy. But he, too, is very good at it. So good, in fact, that I'm pretty sure he's a psychopath in real life. I just have a hunch. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti have limited roles, but they both have their moment of screen time in which they both kill it. Hoffman's speech and Giamatti's reveal to Gosling both remind us why they're constantly nominated. Marisa Tomei gets a little lost in the shuffle, as she only has three scenes in the entire movie, but handles the sleezeball reporter role well. But the film does suffer a little from a cast spread too thin. Not so much like Contagion, where the cast of 26 people was too hard to focus on, but with all this Oscar-worthy talent, it leaves you wanting more from the players. Like why get Marisa Tomei for a 4 minute role? Why get Jeffrey Wright for even less screen time? But most of it works, and I was not disappointed by any of them.

The Ides of March tells a good story through its heavy dialogue. With little action, it leans on great performances by its cast. It gives us a glimpse into the political world and shows us just how soul-crushing running a campaign can be - and this is just the Democratic primary; there's still a presidential election to look forward to. The transformation we see of both Gov. Morris and Stephen Meyers is compelling, if not somewhat frightening. I usually don't go for political movies, as they typically complicate the script with too much political jargon and overbearing logistics and focus on one uninteresting individual for two hours. Thankfully, that wasn't a problem in this film, and I rather enjoyed being able to sit through a political drama and feel satisfied at the end.

Score: 7.5/10
Recommended: Yes