The Ides of March 2011 Movie Review
Friday, October 14, 2011 at 8:19AM 
George Clooney directs, co-writes, and co-stars in the cynical political thriller "The Ides of March." The film follows a young smart relatively high positioned staffer on the campaign of a senator/ potential democratic candidate for the next presidential election. The staffer is played by Ryan Gosling (Drive and Crazy Stupid Love) and the candidate is played by George Clooney (Up in the Air and Ocean's 11). Gosling's character has worked on many campaigns prior to Clooney's but it seems that this is the first candidate that he truly believes in, not only his politics and platforms but also a belief in his follow through, if elected. Paul Giamatti (Win Win and Sideways) plays the head staffer on the other democratic front runners campaign and the source of much conflict and underhanded dealings.
Obviously the film has an outstanding cast also including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood, but Clooney's direction is some how able to pull a great performance out of each of them from headliners to the supporting cast. Most things on the surface of this film I expected would come across as boring or played out, but instead it has an overall feel of suspense and a edge of your seat thrill of what's going to happen next.
You don't have to be into politics to enjoy this film, in fact you might be better off if you are not. At times in the film Clooney's character is openly speaking his very liberal political views. This might be a turn off to half of the films audience because these views are portrayed as ideal asking the audience to root for Clooney, which fails from a film perspective if you have different beliefs.
The most interesting element of the film and what makes it work so well is the feeling of being on the inside of what is really going on behind the scenes of a major campaign and election. Many of the characters are forced to throw out their ideals to get what they want. What would it take for someone to compromise their values and who really even has values and not just the facade of a belief? Great acting, intense situations, intriguing ethical dilemmas, good movie.
Rating: 7.9/10
