Here’s a belated comment on The Ides of March, released earlier this fall. George Clooney directed, co-wrote and stars in this contemporary political drama. It’s an engrossing story about ambition, loyalty and betrayal. The story revolves around an up-and-coming political consultant (Ryan Gosling). He is working under a veteran campaign manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in a Democratic Presidential primary. He is wooed by the campaign manager (Paul Giamatti) for the opposing candidate, and the intrigue begins.
Two performances stand out. Philip Seymour Hoffman perfectly captures the old school politico, now jaded, but able to access the idealism that first drove him into politics. Ryan Gosling can soar in any kind of role. Here he is smart, but is he smart enough? He is well-intentioned, but can it overcome his ambition? Gosling keeps us on the edge of our seats as he navigates a snake pit of betrayals.
The rest of the cast is good, too: Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood as an ambitious intern and Marisa Tomei as a hard-nosed reporter.
It’s a movie that MOSTLY gets the politics right. The fundamental truth of the movie is that an utterly cynical veteran politico can still fall in love with candidate, as Hoffman’s campaign manager does with Clooney’s candidate.
In another dead on accurate touch, Hoffman and Gosling need a room to privately pass on some bad news to Clooney. Instead of finding a cramped office, the three men sit on folding chairs knee-to-knee in a room that could accommodate 200. That stuff really happens.
Unfortunately, Ides gets some things wrong. Would never happen: A veteran strategist like Hoffman would never be surprised by the possibility of “mischief voting” in an open primary. Real life campaign consultants would never discuss policy positions with a candidate in a room full of thirty 20-somethings, all itching to leak what they know. And no veteran politico worth his salt would tell a reporter about a deal that is not done.
Nonetheless, it’s a movie that I recommend.