Review of The Ides of March (2011) by Clarisesamuels — 30 Jan 2012

As a directorial debut, this film shows that George Clooney is multitalented, and we have not yet plumbed the depths of his genius. And the role of Governor Mike Morris is certainly a more flattering role for Clooney than the role he played in The American, which could be retitled, "The Spy Who Shot Me." In that film, Clooney shoots his lover in the back, and then inexplicably falls in love with a prostitute while brutally sidestepping another beauty who is a trained assassin. His image survived that film, and there is probably nothing that could tarnish Clooney's glamour for long.

Nevertheless, The Ides of March, well acted and well conceived, has a lot of problems as a political thriller. We are watching the Democratic primaries in this film, and the ambition is so ruthless that there are no ethical principles, and this dirty campaign is just within the Democratic party--we haven't even met the Republican candidates. The role of the campaign manager is overblown, creating the impression that campaign managers are superstars like managers of baseball teams. I have never once been aware of who the campaign managers were for the various candidates--before the primaries are over, it's hard enough to keep track of who the candidates are, much less who is managing their campaign. These political impresarios stay in the background, and they are anonymous. Clooney has said in interviews that he's a democrat and a liberal, but the film greatly oversimplifies the liberal, left-wing agenda, making it sound trite and predictable. The Republicans are actually admired by the competition in this movie. In one scene, Paul Giamatti's character, another campaign manager, says of the Republican party, "They're meaner, tougher and more disciplined than we are.".

Ryan Gosling is another bonus for this film--his character, Stephen Meyers, is effectively dedicated, shrewd, and controlling. But unfortunately, he has to clean up an indiscreet mess left by the Governor, and in this role where Gosling is The Voice of Morality, he makes the prophetic pronouncement, "you can bankrupt the country, but don't f*** the interns," an insightful remark that refers us back to both Presidents Bush and Clinton. When it comes to morality, neither political party gets off scott free. Loyalty is a major theme is this film, but loyalty gets thrown out the window the moment it is tested, because ambition and a sense of destiny are the order of the day.