Review of The Ides of March, starring George Clooney, Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman
Watching George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March, you’ll be able to figure out pretty early why it has that name – but the intrigue will come from figuring out who’s supposed to be Caesar and who’s supposed to be Brutus.
Clooney directs and stars in this adaptation of the play Farragut North (he also co-wrote the screenplay with Farragut’s writer Beau Willimon), the story of the behind-the-scenes machinations of a presidential campaign. Clooney is Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris, locked in a close race with an Arkansas Senator in the Ohio Democratic Primary. Their campaigns have descended on Ohio– neither willing to leave and campaign elsewhere until they are sure who’s going to take the state. Their campaign strategists are locked in as tight a battle as their candidates, particularly in trying to secure a key endorsement.
Ryan Gosling plays Stephen, an idealistic young campaign worker who believes in what Gov. Morris can bring to the office of the Presidency. But he makes one seemingly simple misstep – he takes a meeting with the head of his rival’s campaign (Paul Giamatti). To us laymen, it doesn’t seem like that big a deal – people are allowed to have meetings. But this is a different world. The meeting sets off a firestorm behind-the-scenes that Stephen has to take control of before a firestorm can ignite in the press.
One would assume in the jaded and salacious age that we live in that the movie would mostly be about a political scandal – and be patient, there is one. But The Ides of March moves at a slower pace than we’re used to these days. You can tell it was originally written for the stage, not for a film with rapid fire jump cuts and split screen. It takes its time getting to where it’s got to go – it’s a political drama, not necessarily a political thriller.
That doesn’t mean it’s not interesting. It’s not about what someone has done wrong, but about what someone does with the fact that someone has done wrong. The stakes are high for Stephen, and they get higher as the drama unfolds. You wonder if the great mind is going to hang on to his ideals or sell out. That question is actually symbolized somewhat superficially – will Mr. Six-Pack Abs Ryan Gosling stay the handsome young hunk he is – or will he turn into a cynical middle-aged jaded pot-bellied veteran like Giamatti or his own boss and mentor, played superbly by Philip Seymour Hoffman?
In our world, as director, writer and megastar himself, George Clooney is the face of The Ides of March. He’s out there doing all the interviews now and he’s the first one you notice in the poster. Likewise, Gov. Morris is the face of the campaign onscreen. But Gosling is the film’s lead and it’s his movie to carry. He’s on a career roll following the recent successes of Crazy, Stupid, Love and Drive -- so that’s a romantic comedy, an action movie and a political drama under his belt in a short amount of time. In this case, Gosling fits right in with the Clooneys, the Hoffmans and the Giamattis who are better known for this kind of fare.
And ironically, he owes it to George Clooney himself. Much as Stephen’s work elevates Gov. Morris, the movie Clooney has created elevates Gosling. He’s a big star, but Clooney isn’t onscreen enough to take over the movie. He’s doing top notch work behind-the-scenes just as Stephen does.
A final point on the movie’s politics for anyone who may think this is going to be the activist George Clooney preaching at us. Yes, conservatives in the audience will likely roll their eyes at some of Gov. Morris’ ideas. But no one in the movie is immune from temptation and no one in the movie is an ideal. The Ides of March puts its characters in situations that make us ask what we would do (“Et Tu, Brute?”) Those of us on the outside hope the political world isn’t like that, but we suspect it probably is.
The Ides of March Details:
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Genre/s: Thriller
Release Date/s: October 7, 2011 (Showtimes & Tickets)
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Production Company: Cross Creek Pictures, Exclusive Media
Official Site:
Alternate Titles:
CAST and CREW FOR The Ides of March
Starring: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella and Evan Rachel Wood
Directed By: George Clooney
Written By: George Clooney & Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon based on the play by Beau Willimon
Produced By: Grant Heslov and George Clooney
The Ides of March SYNOPSIS:
The Ides of March takes place during the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, when an up-and-coming campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate’s shot at the presidency.