Review of The Ides of March - Ryan Gosling sizzles but George Clooney stumbles in lackluster THE IDES OF MARCH
There are two George Clooney films this fall but only one features a standout performance from the veteran actor. Unfortunately, it's not the movie he also directs.
The Ides of March, as earnest as political dramas come, follows fast- rising press secretary Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) as he works to gain the Democratic nomination for governor and presidential candidate Mike Morris (Clooney) in the battleground state of Ohio.
Clooney oozes charm and charisma but Ides of March with its political messages and numerous moral quandaries require him to give a solemn, restrained and somewhat dark performance as an attractive presidential candidate with plenty of skeletons in his closet.
Restraint is nothing new for the one-time E.R. heartthrob. Consider his standout performance as a conflicted assassin in last fall's stark thriller The American.
One of his best performances continues to be the titular role in writer/director Tony Gilroy's drama Michael Clayton, playing a ruthless attorney facing a moral dilemma while working for a large chemical company.
Yet Clooney seems out of step with Ides of March as the core mystery surrounding a pretty female intern in Morris' Cincinnati campaign office (Evan Rachel Wood) unfolds. It seems that Clooney the director is not brave enough to force Clooney the leading man to play the manipulative villain.
Ryan Gosling outshines his famous co-star as a ruthless press secretary who loses a bit of his soul every step into the campaign.
It's impressive how Gosling shows Myers turning colder and crueler while still maintaining a boyish twinkle in his eye. In a year that includes roles in Derek Cianfrance's broken marriage drama Blue Valentine, the likable relationship comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love and Nicolas Winding Refn's stark action drama Drive, Gosling is truly the one to watch in Ides of March.
Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman bring sparks to the movie as rival campaign managers caught up in the unfolding scandal.
Marisa Tomei shrinks into the wallpaper as a New York Times reporter that resembles Maureen Dowd.
Evan Rachel Wood manages to push her way through the boys and stand out as a Morris campaign intern who finds herself in the middle of controversy.
Still, it's Clooney's face on the Shepard Fairey-inspired campaign poster and it's Clooney's weak performance that tilts Ides of March on its side.
Clooney only has himself to blame for the miscasting since he co-wrote the script with Beau Willimon (adapting his own play Farragut North) and his frequent collaborator Grant Heslov.
Clooney set out to make Ides of March a political drama with a lot to say about America today only discover he's the wrong actor to deliver its message.
His misstep is forgiven because it's only a short time to his incredible work in the Alexander Payne drama The Descendants. Now that's a George Clooney movie to celebrate.
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei
Screenwriter: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, from the play Farragut Noth by Beau Willimon
Director: George Clooney
Cinematographer: Phedoh Papamichael
Editor: Stephen Mirrione
Producers: Smoke House Pictures
Running Time: 98 min.
Rating: Rated R
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2012