Ohio is up for grabs at the primaries by the two Democrats looking to become their party’s next presidential nomination.
Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) and his team, headed by veteran campaigner Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), are feeling confident with a seven to eight point lead a week out from the votes. And so they should feel confident – they have the brilliant Stephen Meyers (Gosling) pulling all the shots.
But this is politics – and the opposing team is not adverse to playing dirty. Tom Duffy (Giamatti) has been in the game long enough to know his man – Senator Pullman – has not lost until defeat is conceded. And he certainly has a play or two left in him.
Meyers may have a powerfully analytical mind, but he remains something of a novice in the machinations of serious political power play and he falls straight into the hands of Duffy.
But Gosling is nothing if not a quick learner and, when the opportunity arises, he turns the tables on all those around him but which lead to tragic consequences.
Lying, cheating, bullying - an average day in politics
Political scandals and power struggles are standard Hollywood fare. You can lie, cheat, cajole, bully, shout, but, as Ryan Gosling points out to Governor Mike Morris, one thing you cannot do is ‘f**k the intern.’ Not, at least without facing up to the consequences. And they are pretty serious, with Myers needing to find a way to cover them up as journalist Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei) sniffs a hint of scandal and a story worth telling.
But that story is nothing out of the ordinary. It’s all too familiar and somewhat predictable. And whilst that is likely to be the point of something as quiet as The Ides of March, it leaves a yearning for something with a little more vigour and vim, a little more energetically scandalous or simply a little more energetic. Even the crowd scenes at the political rallies seem staged and staid.
Performance standouts
Performances are generally excellent. But whilst the mix of arrogant swagger and uncertain naivety of Gosling is perfect for such a role, it is the two under-utilised veterans that steal the show. Both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti provide the necessary cynical gravitas and grounded sense of reality.
It is here that is the core interest of The Ides of March lies – the behind-the-scenes relationship (or lack of) and intrigue between these three men. But the film rarely lingers as it moves through political speeches, television interviews and, under the pressure-cooker intensity of a primary, imprudent sex.
Clooney is surprisingly insignificant and, in an underwritten role, not wholly convincing in his passion for politics or his policies. But then integrity is the very thing that is jettisoned in some way in the course of The Ides of March by virtually all the central characters.
Caesar himself is warned ‘Beware the ides of March’ in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. All and sundry in the adaptation of the stage play Farragut North by Beau Willimon would be wise to take heed.
Personal rating: 2.5 stars
The Ides of March
- Directed by George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck, Leatherheads)
- Written by George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck, Kilroy – TV), Grant Heslov (Good Night and Good Luck, Tony – short), Beau Willimon
- Produced by George Clooney (The American, The Men Who Stare At Goats), Grant Heslov (The American, Good Night and Good Luck), Brian Oliver (Black Swan, The Woman in Black)
- Starring Ryan Gosling (Crazy, Stupid, Love, Half Nelson), George Clooney (Syriana, Ocean’s Eleven), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote, Doubt), Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Cinderella Man)
Keith Lawrence - Published writer of articles in magazines, newspapers and websites, predominantly on culture, alongside ghostwriter/editor/copywriter.
