If you've seen any of the The Ides of March trailers, you'll know exactly what to expect. The film is a series of tight medium shots detailing the torso and above of famous actors frowning, swearing and just all around looking serious. It's a sordid exposé of the dark and grungy backroom deals behind American politics. It's clever, emotionally engaging and does nothing that we haven't seen before.
The protagonist is Stephen Myers (Gosling), a talented junior presidential campaign manager for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney). The story takes place over a few days in Ohio as Morris and his opponent struggle to clinch a decisive lead in the race to become leader of the free world by winning the state. Myers's boss Paul Zara (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is a jaded manager who will do anything to win.
Myers is noticed romantically by younger intern Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood) and professionally by opponent campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giammatti). His interaction with both kick off the twisty narrative which sees him receive a backstabbing and pushes him through an ethical obstacle course which strips away his idealism to nothing.
If any of this sounds familiar, that's because it is. While never delving into cliché by literally copying other movies, the cyclical theme of the narrative certainly won't light the thriller world on fire. Yes, politicians are scumbags and yes, you need to get down in the mud to win.
"I don't need to play dirty anymore," shouts an indignant Myers in a meeting with Duffy. "I've got Morris!"
Yeah, right.
That the film is adapted from a play (Beau Willimon's Farragut North) comes as no surprise. Although Clooney does make a few filmic choices that allow the film to briefly dip into the cinematic (notably the long shots which bookend the story), for the most part he is forcibly confined to showing people talking to each other in that oh-so-American medium close up. Not to say that this isn't interesting to watch — the film does a commendable job at building pace and suspense, leaving the viewer teetering on the edge of their seat as it rushes to its inevitable conclusion — but its strength lies more in its script than in its direction.
The character development is handled masterfully, depicting Myers's transition from naïve beginner into jaded expert with just enough glossing over the unrealistic parts (it all happens over two days?) to make it work. Gosling, too, deserves a nod for his acting, as his glassy-eyed boy wonder act in the first 20 minutes gives way to a much harder-edged character with the audience wondering when he changed. Everyone puts on their best serious faces; Hoffman gives a usual standout performance and Clooney might as well actually be running for President.
The title, a Shakespearian reference to the day in which Julius Ceasar was betrayed (March 15th), here refers not to actual physical violence but to the more subtle and viscious back-and-forth conversation that make up the majority of the film. There won't be blood, but someone will be fired.
The Ides of March left me feeling a minor sense of elation as I left the cinema, as if I had just watched one of the most polished movies of the year. And then I forgot about it until I sat down to write this review. It's a good movie: the dialogue is snappy and it will probably be represented during Oscar season but it just doesn't do anything particularly memorable.
Don't beware The Ides of March — just don't expect much from it.
Bottom Line: A perfectly functional political thriller which is more than entertaining enough to justify your cash, The Ides of March just isn't original enough to elevate itself above good.
3.5/5
