The Ides Of March

I think it was Traffic that had the tag line “No one gets away clean” and that one-liner could also be put to good use to describe George Clooney’s The Ides Of March. Politics has always been a dirty business and you’ll probably need a shower after watching this such is the muck on show. Based on Beau Willimon’s novel Farragut North, this political drama thriller follows Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) the brains behind Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) and his campaign for the Democratic presidential candidacy. Aided by Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Morris’ manager, things are looking good for a winning campaign and yet more praise for golden boy Meyers. However, one phone call from rival Republican campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti, superb) and a chain of affairs begin that swiftly spin out of control and end up with Meyers unsure who to trust and worrying how much of his (until then innocent) soul he may have to sell to the devil. Lets start with the bad things first. If you hate politics and politicians then the story line doesn’t supersede the subject matter and this won’t be for you. Plus, they’re aren’t many likeable persona’s in this film to side with. Put it like this, the death of a fairly innocent character is met without much more than a shrug of the shoulders and a quick cover up. If you do dip your toes in Ides’ murky waters though you’ll have a decent time. Clooney has joint acting / directing duties here. Playing the part of a politician switching between charm and sleazeball Clooney can do in his sleep, so it’s what he does with the camera is more intriguing. He’s handled a political story (of a different genus) before with Good Night, and Good Luck and his success with that film holds him in good stead here, explaining only enough of what’s going on to keep the audience hooked and not ruining any illusions by spoon feeding the machinations behind the political wheels. It’s a classic case of the audience finding out what’s happening at the same time as the main protagonist. Clooney doesn’t hang around either when it comes to moving the story along as Stephen hardly ever sits still, moving from set to set as we get to feel what it really must be like on a campaign train, i.e. no rest until your man’s in The Seat. There’s no fancy camera tricks here but excellent use of lighting and close ups portray many an emotion, though at times Clooney flirts dangerously with a feel of a poor imitation of an X-Files episode. On the acting front Gosling gets to show a lot more of the charm that he undoubtedly has, but he’s still a long way off from hitting such standards as the now regular excellent performances of Giamatti and Seymour Hoffman (both the highlights in this despite much smaller roles). Though how Marisa Tomei got cast as the worlds least convincing hack is as much a mystery as the political funding of a major party. In the end this is a study of two things: The loss of innocence and dirty dealings in the corridors of power. How realistic you find all this will probably depend on how deep your knowledge of politics is, but the basic premise of the story (shown in the excellent final shot of the film) can be applied to anything: Just how many of your morals would you sacrifice to get what you want?

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Clooney’s direction and the twisty plot shine out from the shadows. Time for George to move behind the camera once and for all? Rating: 8/10.