The young, idealistic and ambitious, Stephen (Ryan Gosling, Drive), is riding high as the second in command of a presidential campaign that is leading the polls and just steps away from securing the Democratic nomination. His world starts to unravel after a small lapse in judgement starts a chain of events that lead in some very dark places.
Triple-threat writer/director/actor, George Clooney, directs a phenomenal cast in a film that has enormous potential, however, it lacks something essential: hope.Ryan Gosling has been very busy this year starring in three major film releases: Crazy Stupid Love, Drive and The Ides of March. In fact, I’m sure there is a theater that is playing all three of them right now. After the enormous success of The Notebook, Gosling did not cash in on his fame with a string of Hollywood blockbusters, but instead went the independent route and has carved a name for himself as a serious dramatic actor. I was incredibly impressed with the heavily emotional, Blue Valentine, released last year. In The Ides of March, his character is set up to be a very moral and principled man, but along the way, he becomes derailed. I had a hard time accepting this derailment and wanted more backstory. Gosling does not fault in the part, however, because even though I didn’t like the direction it took, he brought an emotion to the role that teetered between naivety and evil.
As Senator Mike Morris, George Clooney is poised, attractive and charming; fitting perfectly as a politician. He co-wrote the screenplay with Grant Heslov (director The Men Who Stare At Goats) along with Beau Willimonwho also wrote the play, Farragut North, of which the film is based. The story itself is very dry and predictable, and gives and inside look at the art of manipulation. There is very little humor to break the tension so the drama isn’t balanced. It’s set in politics, but as we all know, manipulation happens in every facet of humanity from politics to reality TV.
I did enjoy the cinematography and feel that it raised the bar above the story. In particular, there is a scene of one long shot starting in one room and zooming out through the glass windows to show each separate conversation. There was another scene involving the backdrop of an American flag that I felt was rather blatant but the colors were amazing.
Besides her caked-on makeup and terribly-dyed blonde hair, Evan Rachel Wood was just too mature for the role. She may be near the age for the character, but her speech and how she carries herself is way beyond 20. She is not as fragile as the character needed to be.
Rounding out the cast are three amazing talents: Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei. They are so good in their role that they will most likely get passed over for any nominations. Each display a range of emotion that is evident in their mannerisms alone. It continues to amaze me how they can each completely embody a character and any other role they’ve played completely disappears from my mind. Simply fantastic.
I was also impressed by the score. I thought it silly and obvious at first, but today I caught myself humming the song from the ending credits. It has a dollop of a march with an enjoyable repetition. Alexandre Desplat has four Oscar nominations for The King’s Speech, Fantastic Mr Fox (one of my personal favorites), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Queen. He also scored Carnage(see Alex’s review here) premiering at the New York Film Festival.
The film will get a big draw just from the cast, but I predict that the second week will see a drop based on the word-of-mouth, because with wide releases, movies that do well leave you cheering at the end. This is not that movie.
Rating: Worth a viewing on cable for the acting, but doesn’t leave an impression. 3/10
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