Susan Granger’s review of “The Ides of March” (Columbia Pictures/Sony)
Timely and thought-provoking, writer/director/producer/star George Clooney’s skeptical dissection of American political culture should prove disillusioning, even to the most naïve and optimistic.
Presidential candidate Gov. Mike Morris (Clooney) is a charming, charismatic idealist, bearing more than a passing resemblance to disgraced former Senator John Edwards. That’s coincidental since the screenplay was written long before Edwards’ scandal involving infidelity and misuse of campaign funds. Indeed, the idea which grew into a play, “Farragut North,” was conceived by Beau Willimon, who worked for 2004 Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean, and was later amplified into a savvy, jargon-laden script by Clooney and his long-time collaborator Grant Heslov. Clooney admits that the ironic theme really took root for him after his father, journalist/TV host Nick Clooney, lost in his bid for a Kentucky Congressional seat.
Disguised as a dramatic thriller, this character-driven parable of loyalty, betrayal and revenge, unfolds during a crucial Democratic presidential primary in Ohio, pitting Gov. Morris against Senator Pullman (Michael Mentell). While Morris respects his experienced campaign manager, Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), he relies on his 30 year-old media strategist, Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling), a hotshot who spins ruthless reporters like Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei), trolling for a scoop on a potentially game-changing Morris endorsement by influential Sen. Thompson (Jeffrey Wright).
But problems arise when cocky, ambitious Meyers takes a meeting with Pullman’s campaign manager, deviously diabolical Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), who convinces him the Cincinnati numbers are fluctuating and tries to convince him to switch sides. Later, Meyers’ dalliance with slinky, seductive intern, Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), daughter of the DNC chairman, exposes seedy complications in the candidate’s treacherous sprint for tactical advantage.
Ensemble performances are strong, particularly Gosling’s, and the Shakespearean title refers a soothsayer’s warning – “beware the Ides of March -” referring to March 15, 44 B.C., when Julius Caesar was assassinated by a conspiracy of Roman Senators.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Ides of March” is a cynical, sophisticated 7, sliding down the slippery slope of contemporary corruption.
