The Ides of March

"You broke the only rule in politics. You want to be president? You can start a war, you can lie, you can cheat, you can bankrupt the country... but you can't fuck the interns. They'll get you for that".

George Clooney directs this sharp and deliberately non-humourous satire on the current state of American politics. It's a continuation of his liberal ideals and his deconstruction of the hypocrisies that hinder America's percieved greatness as previously seen in his directorial project, Good Night and Good Luck. Clooney takes the pivotal supporting role to Ryan Gosling's lead, and with a idea-packed script they explore American politics in more depth than any A-list Hollywood film deserves.

Some people will walk into this film expecting a thriller, or a big sweeping drama ala Traffic or Crash, but I think the film is more akin to The Wire in the way it comes at the issues from all sides but still manages to retain a more personal scope. I've heard some reviewers (such as Harry Knowles) disparage the film as 'another negative take' on American politics, and I guess to some degree that's true. There's not a lot that's new in this film, it is another cynical look at politics, but it does get elevated somewhat by the presence of Gosling and Clooney both bringing their A game, and sadly, this stuff is still incredibly relevant to western politics and America doesn't really deserve to be let off the hook just yet.

Clooney plays Mike Morris, a democratic presidential candidate. He's a liberal and he promises some radical positive changes, but he also has a scandal brewing beneath him. Gosling is the Deputy Campaign Manager who becomes unstuck by his own politicking but manages to find some leverage that might secure his future in politics when his path continues to cross with a young intern (Evan Rachel Wood).

The American political system seems so complicated to me, I'm not going to pretend I understand it all, but I guess if I had to boil this film down to a concept I'd say it was saying that politics is all about how things look rather than how things are, and the forces that influence the movers and shakers behind the scenes. Clooney's role is partially a comment on Obama's presidential platform. Barack Obama was a man who won on the back of people who dared to dream of a bright new future, but he was also man who ultimately won't deliver on his refreshing 'honesty'. On top of this there's also a touch of that other recent political chestnut; Clinton's indiscretion and the way it threatened to overshadow everything he ever did.

Gosling is decent in his lead role as Stephen Meyers (though his better work this year was in Drive and Crazy Stupid Love) and he gets across the hypocrisy of this character without making him seem cartoonishly vile. Stephen is horrified when a rival tricks him into orchestrating his own political decline, but he is then also willing to throw a relatively innocent intern under the bus, and the final scenes between him and Clooney leave a very bad but familiar taste in the mouth as a result. All I'll say about Clooney's performance is that he is very believable as a top-line politician. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti also have important supporting roles, and seeing them in the same film together is mildly satisfying as they jowl off against one another for the character-actor crown of their generation.

The direction is more than accomplished, Clooney occasionally goes in for some stark imagery such as Hoffman and Gosling silhouetted against a giant, vividly-coloured American flag, or the image of himself standing at the end of a bar in the dark. All I can say is that he should do a lot more shots along these lines, they really helped the film come alive in those too few moments. The rest of it is a bit talky and complicated in the way it explores the consequences of a compromising position. Some people will love this film, but I only got so much out of it.

DIRECTOR: George Clooney
WRITER/SOURCE: Screenplay by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon. Based on a play by Beau Willimon.
KEY ACTORS: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, Max Minghella, Jennifer Ehle

RELATED TEXTS:
- The 2008 play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, which was loosely based on the 2004 campaign of Democratic candidate Howard Dean.
- The title is an allusion historical events involving Julius Caesar, for a good viewpoint of this see Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.
- Other damning films about the American political system - Wag the Dog, Primary Colours, All the President's Men, All the King's Men, The War Room, Advise and Consent and The Candidate.
- Clooney investigated corruption and political influence as a writer-director with Good Night and Good Luck, and as an actor in Michael Clayton.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
AFIs - won Best International Film and Best International Screenplay. Nominated for Best International Actor (Ryan Gosling).
BAFTAs - nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Golden Globes - nominated for Best Film (Drama), Best Director, Best Actor - Drama (Gosling) and Best Screenplay.