The Ides of March Review

Gosling and Clooney play the politics game in the smart and engaging “Ides of March”

George Clooney made his name as a serious actor in the mid 1990’s on an NBC show called “ER”. In the years since he has made lots of movies, some good and many not so good. But in that time he has become one of a few major Hollywood stars that have followed in the steps of Clint Eastwood, in which they have turned to directing. One example of Clooney at his best directing is one of the best films of 2005 “Good Night, and Good Luck”. Now Clooney has directed his fourth feature and he does it on both sides of the camera. He directs, co-writes, co-produces, and stars in the new political thriller “The Ides of March”. While this film does not hit a home run completely, it has enough intrigue and style to make it a near home run hitter.

The story follows Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), who is running for the Democratic Presidential nomination. The setting is in the state of Ohio at the point of the state primary election. At this point it is either a win or lose state for Morris and his other democratic opponent. Morris is a candidate who says he is agnostic, he embraces abortion rights, the welfare state, and he is campaigning for the end of the internal combustion engine. Basically he is running on what he believes to be his cause and he has no problem telling people off. His way of saying it bluntly is by saying “If you don’t believe in my positions, don’t vote for me.” . Now behind the campaign is Morris’s spokesman/political media consultant Stephan Myers (Ryan Gosling) and the campaign manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Paul is a man who believes in nothing but loyalty to the people that you work for. Stephan believes in Morris and sees a great future ahead of him. In so doing Stephan has proven to be a major asset to the campaign and has caught the eye of the opposing side’s advisor Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). Tom initially offers Stephan a job with his team and is immediately turned down. But that is not even the tip of the iceberg as Stephan is about to get a major dose of what politics is all about.

In the process Stephan meets a young and beautiful campaign intern named Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), with whom he has a fling with. But he tells her that this he does not want a commitment to any kind of relationship because his bed is with the campaign. Then Stephan uncovers a secret from Molly. One that could damage the Governor and could change the game that the campaign is playing. At this point Stephan has to make the biggest decision of his life. He must decide whether to put his own values on the line and possibly still get his candidate elected or will he compromise things and start a major internal conflict. But at the same time Stephan is learning about the truth of loyality as the film goes on. He is learning who to trust and he is slowly seeing that politics is a dirty game, one that involves a lot of backstabbing and deception.

Now I called this movie a political thriller before, to be honest it is a political thriller however it is not done in the style that would be the usual formula for that genre. In other words, this film does not resort to using all of the typical political thriller cliches that we are all used to. One example of this is in the scene where Molly is explaining the secret to Stephan. You would expect that as she is telling him everything that there would be quick flashback cuts intergrated into that scene that show what she is describing. Well there are none, instead we are just listening to what she is saying and seeing his reaction. The dialogue is creating the image for the audience. Also to point out is that there are a few moments when there is nothing but silence amongst a conversation between the characters. But you are so in tune as to what is going on that you don’t need dialogue or action to tell you what is happening. That is what sets this movie above the political thriller norm. It is filled with smart and sharp dialogue that for the most part paints the whole picture for the audience. It does this without resorting to the typical cliches like flashbacks and conspiracy theories that would bring the film done. Basically the film speaks for itself and needs no explanation.

One of the other strengths that this movie has is that even though it is about politics, it does not force you to pick sides. The film does not care if you are Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian, or Green. The methods that the story uses are the tricks that every political plays on their opponents to woo the voters every day. This approach however can probably turn a lot of viewers off because politics is not well liked with some people, so they might not appeciate what this movie has to offer.

When all is said and done, The Ides of March emerges as a different and ultimately rewarding piece of political filmmaking. It stays true to its convictions and never lets the norm overpower it. Clooney is at the top of his game, as both actor and director, as he takes a political thriller plot and turns it into a melodrama that keeps the audience engaged and never loses steam. In addition the rest of the cast play their parts to absolute perfection. But the winner here is Gosling, who is quickly becoming one of our great actors. He transforms himself into Stephan Myers and creates a personiality that the audience can easily sympathize with. As mentioned before the difference between this film and other political thrillers is the road that it takes to tell its story. It does not rely on the norm and lets the story speak for itself. That is what makes this film different from any other political thriller before it. It is a sharply written and superbly acted drama. Now the downside is that it sort of leaves you hanging at the end. But when you think about it, you understand why because as mentioned before the film speaks for itself. Other than that little dislike, this movie is one of the better films of the year.

My Score: *** 1/2 out of ****

By Adam Miller
Movies Correspondent and Associate Producer, The RPM Show