The Ides of March

Director: George Clooney
Writers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon (playwright)
Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Evan Rachel Wood
Length: 1 hour 41 minutes
Release Date: October 7, 2011

    Academy Award Winner, two-time sexiest man-alive, mega superstar George Clooney has been on a continuous roll of some good, some bad, some fantastic films for the last ten years. However, after only every three years, the constantly working actor stops to sit behind the director’s chair as well. He made his directorial debut with Confessions of A Dangerous Mind in 2002, received six Oscar nominations for his McCarthy era film Good Night, And Good Luck in 2005, gave us the screwball football comedy Leatherheads in 2008 and now takes on the highly anticipated political drama, The Ides of March.

    Based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, the film stars golden boy Ryan Gosling as the idealistic Stephen Meyers, the deputy campaign manager for governor Mike Morris (Clooney), who is running as a Democratic presidential candidate. Campaign Manager Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the Morris campaign’s twenty-year-old intern Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), Meyers and the rest of the campaign team are working to beat out Ted Pullman (Michael Mantell) in the Democratic primaries.

    While both are currently campaigning in Ohio, a state that would secure the nomination for Morris and would give Pullman critical momentum, Pullman’s campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) asks Meyers for a secret meeting. Though unwilling, Meyers goes and meets Duffy, where he is asked to join the campaign for Pullman and leave Morris. Meyers refuses and leaves the meeting. However, he does not realize how much he has compromised himself by seeing Duffy in the first place. Quickly, this naïve subordinate gets a harsh dose of dirty politics that puts him in jeopardy. Nonetheless, something Meyers has found out about Morris through Molly might be able to malevolently help him out.

    Right off the bat, without even knowing everything about the plot, this film has literally everything going for it. With Clooney directing, the film already has a massive amount of interest surrounding it, as well as the fact that the film is filled with one of the best casts of movie history. Name after name, you are shocked by the amount of brilliant talent that can fit into this movie including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, and the list continues. Going into the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, I assumed The Ides of March would come out on top, winning the people’s choice awards and being the sure pick for this year’s Oscars. Unfortunately, it was impossible for those unbelievably high expectations to be met and what we are left with is a very good film, but also a disappointment.

    Everything that you expect to be fantastic in The Ides of March still is. The factor that stops you from being completely blown away by the film does not lie in the casts’ performances or in Clooney’s direction, but in the very delicate script. Writing a political movie is always a tricky task, and while managing to create great character depth and an enjoyable plot, the screenplay by Clooney, Grant Heslov and the playwright Beau Willimon does not surpass every obstacle. Keeping in mind the film was based off a theatrical production, there are very dramatic plot turns and clichés that irritate you for existing in this smart political drama. The story clearly does not take place in today’s world of U.S. politics, which is completely fine. However, this creates a constant slight detachment from the solely democrat competition these characters are in.

    This only reminds you that the story is the backbone of a film. If it isn’t completely sturdy, there is no way to be entirely enveloped with what’s in front of you, no matter how talented the cast or director is. Nonetheless, they are clearly very talented and bring out an immense enjoyment of the film that no other team could. Clooney, to start with, shines brilliantly as the director of this film. He brings out a very important kind of elegance that the scenes between most characters seem to naturally have. Simultaneously, he brings out the darkness from underneath the cruel world of politics that uncovers itself slowly as Gosling’s character finds himself in more and more trouble. That darkness is so pinnacle for the film because it alters not only your understanding of the film but also your understanding of the unfair world of politics, similar to another film this fall, Moneyball, with the corrupt world of Baseball. Clooney simply nails that aspect of the film.

    His second greatest achievement with The Ides Of March is picking the ultimate cast. Ryan Gosling, in the lead role is topping off his best most versatile year yet. First, with the hugely successful romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid,Love. in the summer, the acclaimed and triumphant action thriller Drive in September and now, the sharp political drama, The Ides of March, you think we would be getting sick of the gifted heartthrob. However, with Gosling’s versatility in picking his roles comes outstanding versatility in his performances, so that every time you see that familiar face on screen, you aren’t seeing the same person at all. He carries the film beautifully and is totally convincing in his character’s drastic transformation, making the audience sad for his lost innocence.

    Phillip Seymour Hoffman who plays Meyers’ boss, Morris’ head campaign manager, is simply fantastic as the zealous Paul Zara, while Marisa Tomei is marvelously devious as the New York Times reporter Ida Horowitz, who puts Meyers in an awkward position. Paul Giamatti is also commanding on screen as the likable enemy of Meyers, while Evan Rachel Wood captivates the screen with her very strong chemistry with Gosling and her unbelievable skill playing a charming but distressed girl that is stuck in the middle of Meyers’ dilemma. The rest of the cast including Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, Jennifer Ehle and Clooney himself are somehow all extraordinary as well.

    If your expectations of this film were similar to mine, it is impossible to walk away without feeling slight disappointment. However, with Clooney directing, a fairly intriguing plot, and once again one of the best dramatic casts you will ever see on screen, The Ides of March makes for a thoroughly enjoyable movie experience that is well worth your time.