3 stars (out of four)
In the months building up to a presidential election, the
24-hour news machine can feel so much like entertainment – politicians debate
on live TV and commentators subsequently debate the candidates’ worth with sensationalized
talking points and colorful graphics – that a film about the primary election
process may almost feel redundant. Released in time to coincide with the
growing media hullabaloo that marks the start of the 2012 presidential race, The
Ides of March, a soapy political thriller
directed by George Clooney, is less interested in the candidates of its
fictional political world and the issues they discuss than the web of campaign
managers and advisors who pull the strings behind the scenes.
At the center of that web for Democratic Pennsylvania
Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) is a talented young campaign manager
named Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) and Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a
campaign veteran and Myers’s boss. These two are responsible for getting the
aforementioned media machine to work in Morris’s favor – that is to say, their
favor – and ensuring a victory at the polls. Assisting them is a team of
hard-working interns, including Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood), daughter of
DNC chairman Jack Stearns (Gregory Itzin).
The film focuses on a coveted primacy race in Ohio where
Morris holds a tentative lead over Arkansas Senator Ted Pullman (Michael
Mantell). An endorsement from one Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright), a powerful
figure in the Democratic Party, would all but seal the nomination for Morris.
That is, unless Pullman secures Thompson’s support first.
Posing a threat to the Governor and his team is Pullman’s
campaign manager, Tom Duffy (a wonderfully gruff Paul Giamatti), who has his
eyes on Myers. He wants Myers to jump ship on Morris’s campaign and work for
him, but Myers is an idealist. He believes in Morris. This idealism prompts the
derision of Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei), a New York Times writer who pries Myers and Zara for leads about
their campaign strategies. She reminds Myers that Morris is a politician like
any other and dismisses his faith in Morris as little more than starry-eyed
naiveté.
Clooney’s Morris is a bit of an idealized figure. A staunch
liberal, Morris proclaims that he is not a religious man but believes in the
people’s right to practice any and all faiths. He calls for an end to America’s
addiction to foreign oil, for industry-minded emphasis on burgeoning
technologies, and for a revised economic system that ensures Americans pay
their “fair share” of taxes. He is a frank, good-humored, sane and reasonable
man. He is, in other words, an utterly unelectable figure in anything
resembling the real world. Morris is a sort of Übermensch for Clooney, a romantic vision of his ideal
politician. The improbability that such a politician could ever make it as far
as Morris does in pursuit of the Presidency is not addressed in The
Ides of March.
This unlikelihood is not so important to the film’s success,
however, because Clooney’s ultimate message transcends political partisanship.
His focus is not on the warring ideals that are currently causing our political
system to sputter and stall but on the even dirtier infighting between
career-minded advisors.
In its second half, The Ides of March flirts with soap opera levels of blackmailing and
dirty laundry, which serves both to widen the film’s appeal to less
politically-savvy audience members while also limiting the credibility of its
arguments. Clooney need not go to such overdramatic lengths to illustrate how
American politics are driven by personal ambition, though such sensational
additions do make for an exciting movie.
As a director Clooney is sharp and confident and he stays
focused on his cold perspective of the political game. The film’s visual style
complements this; steely grays and blues are offset by the red and white
stripes that necessarily pervade the background of a given shot.
The cast, it should go without saying, is exceptional.
Philip Seymour Hoffman gives lessons on how to command the screen with
characteristic effortlessness, and the ubiquitous Ryan Gosling continues to
make a strong case for being the most reliable star of his age. (Your move,
Leo.)
So although The Ides of March is a more than capable film, executed with skill and efficiency, it is
also a difficult film to embrace. Clooney presents an unforgivingly cynical
portrait of American politics but offers little in the way of hope for the
future. If one wants to stay in the business of politics, ideals must be
compromised (or thrown violently out the window as the case may be). Such news
should hardly come as a revelation to anyone; what we need now are some
suggestions on how to improve the state of things.
- Steve Avigliano, 10/10/11
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