Ides of March

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Plot: Stephen (Ryan Gosling) is a spokesman for presidential candidate Mike Morris (George Clooney,) and they are trying to win the Ohio primary against a rival campaign led by campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti.) Campaign staffers are sleeping around, and the higher ups are leaking to the press and making shady deals. There is a surprise twist that drives more dirty dealing that leads to the conclusion.

Review: Ides of March is a workmanlike film with a few good scenes. It is interesting but not fun or good or merit-worthy. The message seems to be that everyone in politics is a jerk, and it could lead to a new low in voter turnout.

One would think that director Clooney was trying to promote liberal policies since Morris/Clooney is always giving punchy speechs promoting these policies.

 The best part of the movie were the Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti scenes. Some of their dialog was excellent, but they are not in the film enough. Instead we get policy speeches from Morris/Clooney and soap opera from Myers/Gosling & Molly Stearns/Evan Rachel Wood. Most of the plot is too predictable to be interesting. The election drama was just not suspenseful -- I would rather have watched the news.

As the movie goes through its plot twist, Ryan Gosling stops acting and turns into same wooden actor we saw in The Driver. I don't get that -- he seems engaging early in the film. It is like tough guys don't smile, or perhaps that he sold his soul somewhere.

There were 1-2 scenes with creative cinematography, especially the confrontation in the kitchen. The soundtrack was very dull.

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

Directed by: George Clooney


Source: Based on the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon. The play was based on the Howard Dean campaign.

Rating:    2.0 stars: - disappointing the reviews were so good.

More: Can anyone figure out why this was called Ides of March?

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