The Ides of March
Columbia Pictures
R
101 minutes
2011
It's not uncommon for political thrillers to come out around election season. With politics and a potential shift in leadership on the minds of the American people, it makes films like The Ides of March that much more relevant.
The Ides of March is a film about the dirty game that is politics, and what it requires to play. It mainly follows the story of campaign managers working for prospective Presidential candidates and features an ensemble cast, comprised of some of the most supremely talented veterans in the business, any of whom are capable of carrying a picture on their own.
However, when Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), working for the opposing candidate Pullman (Michael Mantell), offers Gosling a job by revealing some inside information, things begin to spiral out of control. Not only does word of the offer reach intrepid Times report Ida Horowitz (Marisa Tomei), but Meyers is seduced by a beautiful young intern (Evan Rachel Wood) with a secret of her own.
I can't say enough good things about Gosling. After his impressive and intimidating turn in Drive, he has shown me that he's more than the heartthrob actor I mistook him for. What's most impressive is the way he subtly shifts from his starry-eyed admiration to a bitter, cynical man. He sees Morris as a hero, and when that is called into question, Meyers realizes that politics is all about public perception, not the truth. It's about the mask they wear in public, not about their personal integrity. In fact, the film's central message seems to be that there is no such thing as integrity in politics, a viewpoint that echoes my own.
Clooney is also superb. It's hard to believe he began as a cast member on ER that made women swoon over his looks and has elevated himself into one of the most distinguished actors working today. Clooney has old school movie star charisma, with his bassy voice and chiseled good looks. He makes a perfect politician - a man the public will trust based on his smile alone, but who hides a much darker side. In the blink of an eye, he's willing to throw away his convictions to protect his career.
Hoffman and Giamatti are practically always brilliant, so it should come as no surprise that they are outstanding here as well. Hoffman works every angle he can, trying to gain support for Morris, while Giamatti works to undo it all in a game of cat-and-mouse. The turning point of the film, which features a scene between Giamatti and Gosling, is nothing short of a stellar display of acting and writing.
Even supporting cast members like Jeffrey Wright (best known as Felix Leiter in the recent James Bond films) and Max Minghella (best known for portraying Divya Narendra in The Social Network) make their presence felt in their limited screen time. Indeed, Wright's character is actually one of the most pivotal in the film.
Clooney's direction is solid, and at times excellent. The shot of Gosling silhouetted against a giant American flag backdrop is gorgeous, and the picture moves along at a surprisingly quick pace for being so reliant on dialogue. The film's big twist is somewhat obvious, but the way the characters react is what makes the movie so worth watching - the way it changes, or reveals, what really lies at their core - and the way that will almost assuredly change the viewer's perception of them all.
Who knows what secrets really lie within the closets of the men we trust to lead us, and what lengths people will go to to cover them up. Stacked with some Oscar-worthy performances from a phenomenal cast, The Ides of March is one of the best political thrillers in quite some time, and a frightfully relevant picture in this day and age.
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