'The Ides of March'

'The Ides of March' (R) (Rental)

Writers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Based on Willimon's play 'Farragut North'

Director: George Clooney
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, George Clooney, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella

I am not a very political person but a juicy, back stabbing political thriller can get me going. I am afraid "Ides of March" didn't get me going enough, maybe because I wanted more back stabbing. "Ides of March" has a killer cast of great actors at the top of their game. The acting alone is worth the price of admission I guess but I would wait until DVD. The movie is sometimes fun but I was in the end dissapointed.

"The Ides of March" is based on a play and at times I felt the movie was a little stagy. It concerns a young and ambitious campaign aide who is helping a popular Democratic Governor get a Presidential nomination. He works for a cynical campaign manager and gets caught in a tug of war with the opposition's manager. When he meets with the other campaign manager a web of intrigue and scandal explodes. There is a great set up with all of this and what a cast! I was licking my lips for some nasty back stabbing and I wound up walking out with my mouth dry.

The story seems recycled from other political movies and real life political scandals. I wasn't really surprised at any of the plot developments and guessed a few. The story just isn't topical enough for these political times. It starts out exciting but becomes dull quickly. With all the incompetent dolts running today for President on the Republican side and all the weird scandals in the past years this movie seems so 1990's. There is nothing here that gets you interested and there are no thrills in this political thriller.

The story is blah but on the other hand the acting is wonderful. This is a dream cast that even outshines the cast of "Contagion". First you have hot Ryan Gosling as the campaign aide Stephen Meyers. This actor has given amazing performances this past year alone and he is a great leading man here. This is the second movie after "Crazy, Stupid, Love" that his acting saves a weak story. Then there are two performances that almost bump this movie up to a total reccomendation. I smiled and became giddy everytime Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti were on screen. They give such electric, powerful character performances here. Hoffman is incredible playing jaded here and Giamatti is delightfully pig headed as the other campaign manager. Their performances make this movie at least exciting and thrilling to watch when they are on screen.

Director George Clooney gives himself a small role here actually as the Governor. The movie belongs to the aides and managers but Clooney here is solid and impressive. He has to have the most relaxed presence on screen of any actor I have ever seen. Even when he is yelling he is as cool as ice and you never see him stretching for effect. Also Evan Rachel Wood, who can be equal to Gosling in acting ability, makes a great impression here. After she leaves the movie you feel her absence. Clooney is a great actor's director and he can get the best out of his actors here. The acting is almost worth it to go out and see this movie but the story undermines their performances.

Again I am not a big fan of political movies and politics and before Bill Maher came along I didn't really care. Lately though I am rather intrigued by the movies and documentaries of the past decade and of the real life political landscape. So "The Ides of March" doesn't work for me because nothing here intrigued me like what is going on now in real life. George Clooney does a great job directing here but his "Good Night, Good Luck" was vastly superior. This movie is like the democrats today. Both are too scared and weak to get down and dirty and give us a real fight.

P.S. I can think of a lot of political thrillers way more exciting than "The Ides of March". Check out Rod Lurie's "The Contender" with juicy performances by Joan Allen and Jeff Bridges. Also better at offering behind the scenes looks at running for office check out the flawless "Primary Colors" with one of John Travolta's best performances. Also "Now Way Out" with Kevin Costner and Sean Young is full of outrageous scandal and it is extremely fun and thrilling.