The Ides of March stars Ryan Gosling as Stephen Myers, a young idealistic political campaign manager. He has already been involved in politics but this time he is the junior campaign manager for Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) who has a good chance of becoming the Democratic nominee and ultimately the President of the United States. With veteran Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) making the final decisions in the campaign, they are sitting pretty. But then things start to unravel.
The Story
When another senator pulls out of the race he leaves his endorsement up for grabs and his delegates without a candidate. Both Morris and his opponent, Senator Pullman (Michael Mantell), are lobbying the senator for his endorsement, going so far as to promise him positions in their future administrations. The candidate who gets the endorsement and delegates of Senator Thompson will have enough to go on and win the important primaries and hopefully the whole shebang!
Then a scandal threatens to derail the Morris campaign and Stephen Myers takes it upon himself to disarm the situation. Myers begins the movie as a nice, caring, idealistic campaigner but changes as the story unfolds. He gets hardened by the many situations in which he finds himself and ends up having to take a hard look at his life, the candidates, and the world of politics.
The Movie
If you are looking for a George Clooney movie, this is not it. While Clooney is the candidate, he is not on screen very much. His presence is felt but his face time is limited. The story revolves around campaign manager Morris. It is his story, not the candidate’s story.
America has been rocked by many political scandals over the years, and threads of them run through the fabric of this story with comments that will evoke memories of past politicians.
The filmmakers clearly positioned the Morris campaign to reflect the Obama 2008 campaign going so far as to use similar artwork for the campaign posters. It depicts Governor Morris looking up and out, in the same way as the famous Obama picture. Instead of the word “Hope” or “Change,” the Morris campaign uses “Believe.”
Reality?
Having myself been involved in many campaigns and even a highly charged Presidential campaign, I was eager to see this film. I must admit that I was a little disappointed. It was not what I expected. The intenseness is there but the story itself is bland.
George Clooney co-wrote the screenplay which was taken from the play by Beau Willimon, and Clooney also directed this movie. Therefore it reflects Clooney's vision he wanted to portray. According to Gosling, “As a director he’s got a great visual eye, and he knows how to communicate what he wants. He knows what he’s talking about.”
Sex, greed and the lust for power all have a role in this story. I believe, although there are a couple good scenes, there aren’t enough great scenes in this movie. In my opinion the characters do reflect much of what their real life counterparts go through but there is something missing from the film. There are better political films on the market. This one is all right, but not a must-see unless you are a political junkie. Yes, it is interesting, but it just falls a little flat.
Cast
Besides Clooney, Gosling, and Hoffman, the movie also stars Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, and Marissa Tomei. The wonderful cast is the strength of the film.
The Ides of March has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for Pervasive Language. It opens in theaters Friday, October 7, 2011.
- Quote source: Sony Pictures Press Notes
