The Ides of March: Movie Review

Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood

Director: George Clooney

Fans of the Gos, stand by - he's back on the big screen.

And for all the ladies out there, it's a double whammy as he's on screen with Gorgeous George too.

Gosling is Stephen Meyers, an idealistic campaigner and second in command for Democrat hopeful Governor Mike Morris' (Clooney) push for the White House. Meyers believes deeply in the cause, the man and the mission to get Mike into the presidency.

However, in the crucial push in Ohio to secure the party vote, everything changes for Meyers; he's met by the opponent's campaign manager Tom Duffy (an ever brilliant Paul Giamatti) and offered the chance to switch sides before Morris's campaign takes a dive. Plus the Morris quest to secure the vote of a crucial senator (Jeffrey Wright) and his supporters hits a snag - and Meyers also ends up in a romantic relationship with young intern Molly (Rachel Evan Wood) which causes all kinds of issues.

Suddenly Meyers' world is mired in underhand politics, blackmail and mistrust - will his idealism help him make the right choices or will he become a casualty of the campaign?

The Ides of March is a loss of innocence tale in many ways; it's Gosling's performance which anchors this flick - but it's strong and assured supporting turns from the likes of Hoffman and Giamatti which give this a bit of edge.
And that's something which is sorely needed on this frankly unsurprising story of dirty politics and politicians. Every twist can be seen ahead of their appearance on screen - but it's the good solid cast performances which make it watchable and make it worthy of your time. Granted, it lacks the political edge, sizzle and incisive banter that we've come to appreciate as fans of The West Wing but it's still an interesting look behind the scenes at a campaign - and you get the feeling that it's probably quite close to reality in some moments.

Gosling's acolytes (Ryanites? Goslites?) will enjoy it and frankly, Hollywood's latest morsel du jour is impressive as he goes from the campaign master of spin to a steely glass eyed politician backroomer who realizes the game needs to be played dirtily to get what's needed - not necessarily what he wants to do. The fall from grace from the big man on campus as he deals with one upmanship and backroom deals and dirty politics is well conveyed by Gosling, who opts for moodiness and glares to get the inner turmoil across as the steely veneer begins to slip and the reality sets in.

But at its heart, it's really an ensemble piece which really helps it to soar above the predictable script as the drama unfolds and the ethics of betrayal, ambition and the fallibility of man are exposed.

Rating:


Watch the Ides of March trailer here.