Today's review is The Ides of March.
Directed by George Clooney.
Written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon.
Based on the play "Farragut North" written by Beau Willimon
Review #144
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language.
Runtime: 127 min
Cast
Ryan Gosling ...Stephen Myers
George Clooney ...Governor Mike Morris
Philip Seymour Hoffman ...Paul Zara
Paul Giamatti ...Tom Duffy
Evan Rachel Wood ...Molly Stearns
Marisa Tomei ...Ida Horowicz
Jeffrey Wright ...Senator Thompson
Max Minghella ...Ben Harpen
Jennifer Ehle ...Cindy Morris
Gregory Itzin ...Jack Stearns
Michael Mantell ...Senator Pullman
Politics is a very intriguing word. Here's how the dictionary defines it.
pol·i·tics
Noun
1. The science or art of political government.
2. The practice or profession of conducting political affairs.
After I looked it up I came across the idiom for Politics and this is actually a far better representation of what Politics actually is.
pol·i·tics
1. To deal with people in an opportunistic, manipulative, or devious way, as for job advancement.
That description not only best defines the word and practice of politics it best summarizes the plot of this film.
Plot
An idealistic staffer for a newbie presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.
There is a lot to like about this film. Starting with the performances of the cast highlighted by two individuals. Ryan Gosling and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Gosling is Hollywood's hottie right now in pretty much every sense you can imagine. He's in a ton of flicks right now and he's good in all of them. His latest here is probably his weakest but that doesn't mean he was bad. His character was. Stephen was to put it nicely naive in the world of politics. He knew how to manage and prepare his man but to think that the game can be won cleanly is just absurd thinking. That naivety is portrayed very nicely by Gosling.
On the other side Hoffman does a fantastic job playing the stringent, play by the numbers co manager of Morris' campaign. He's fully aware of the back door tactics that are employed to secure a victory but he chooses not to act on them unless absolutely necessary or if his man is protected. There was a steely sense of loyalty to Hoffman here. It comes out in full force when he gives Stephen a spanking before giving him a very important lesson on how the game is played.
The script was well written with just 1 exception. It felt like there was something lacking. The story is very easy to follow and in some ways predictable for a film of this genre. However, at the midway point the story takes a turn that made sense overall but in doing so it shuts down the previous route the film was taking us. It's that quick u turn that felt rushed. The film was based on a stage play and I think just liberating the screenplay from that wasn't enough to pace this one along.
On the 5 star scale. The Ides of March gets 3.5 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.
This was a pretty good film and a fine directorial effort by Clooney. It just didn't have the power that the trailer promised.
That's a wrap for today. Up next is In time.
Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"
"D"
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