Review of The Ides of March (2011) by Craig S — 27 Apr 2012

A terrific cast of acting heavyweights square off against each other, and Ryan Gosling comes out on top. He is fantastic here as his character, seemingly the golden boy at the start of the film, plumbs the depths and soars the heights of political campaigning. He almost survives with his soul intact...

While the plot twists and turns effectively, in all honesty it doesn't really contain anything we've not seen before. Nevertheless, George Clooney's direction keeps things moving at 'West Wing' pace (they do a lot of walking and talking here too) and the 100 minute run time flashes by. The main reason to watch is Gosling, who is genuinely great here. Clooney does a fine turn as the politician-who-seems-too-good-to-be-true-and-actually-is-but-don't-let-that-mean-he-shouldn't-be-president, while Hoffman and Giamatti both steal a couple of scenes each.