You should run out and see George Clooney’s new film, The Ides of March. He directs, co-writes, and produces this wonderful political film. (Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the Executive Producers, too.) And this is an absolutely incredible cast with Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and Marisa Tomei all being Academy Award winners and Ryan Gosling an Oscar nominee.
The Ides of March (Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood) – It has been awhile since there was a good, tense, political film. I miss them. George Clooney, whose real political leanings are well known, plays Governor Mike Morris, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for President. It’s down to him and one other candidate, and the campaign is reaching a climax in the swing state of Ohio. Morris is a straight-talking liberal with seemingly strong beliefs in his principles, a confident demeanor, and a strong campaign team. His campaign manager is Paul Zara (played by the versatile, Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman), a hard working pro who has been through this grind before. Zara’s assistant campaign manager is Stephen Meyer, a 30-year-old wunderkind, who is mostly an idealist in a corrupt world. He doesn’t compromise and is awfully sure that his advice, particularly on media and PR matters, is impeccable. He is likable, cocky, and a workaholic. In short, he is a player despite his innocence and youth. He is also a climber and not immune to the advances of a young intern (played by Evan Rachel Wood) whose father (played by 24’s evil Gregory Itzin) is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Morris is running ahead in the polls. If he wins Ohio, he will likely run the table and win the nomination. But his opponent has a strong team of his own, run by Tom Duffy (played by the Oscar-winning Paul Giamatti). Duffy is impressed with Stephen and wants to hire him for his guy’s campaign. They meet; they talk. And it is here that the intrigue begins. Will Stephen switch sides, particularly after he finds out a secret about Morris that could bring his own guy’s campaign down (I’m not telling)? It’s a big question, particularly when word of the clandestine meeting gets leaked to a New York Times reporter (Oscar winner Marisa Tomei). How will his bosses, Morris and Zara, react when they find out he has met with the enemy?
This is where politics turns hardball. Ohio Senator Thompson (played by familiar actor Jeffrey Wright), who is also running for the nomination, is flirting with both campaigns before throwing his own 350+ delegates to the one with the best offer. Zara thinks he has the endorsement all wrapped up but so does Duffy. Morris isn’t much enamored with Thompson but his campaign brain trust is telling him that he needs Thompson or he risks losing the nomination. What compromises will be made? Who will win both the behind-the-scenes and the in-front-of-the-cameras wars?
It all makes for an intriguing 100 minutes with Clooney writing, producing and directing an all-star cast. I loved the acting; not a weak link anywhere. I really liked the soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat. There isn’t a boring moment in the film. The only weakness in the movie might be the condensed screenplay, which brings us the entire story over just a few days. We simply don’t learn enough about the characters to give us a firm foundation. But that is a mild criticism. For those of us who are political junkies, this is a wonderful glimpse into the back rooms of modern campaigns. It’ll knock the idealism right out of all of you who are true believers.
(For those of us movie geeks, the film brings back together Hoffman and Tomei, who played lovers in Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Also, Clooney filmed most of the movie in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, the place he grew up and where his father was a TV newscaster and talk-show host and who was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress.)