By Brooke King, Staff Writer
“Beware the Ides of March” – words of warning from the Soothsayer to Julies Caesar. While no one is assassinated in George Clooney’s most recent film–which he co-wrote, directed, and starred in– it is a film that raises the question of whether or not politics is a death knell for morality.
Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) is a rising star political media consultant whose razor sharp instincts have landed him a job working for Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris’ (George Clooney) campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. There is only one man above Steve that stands in the way of his dream job: Morris’ current campaign manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman). While Paul and Stephen work together each day to further Gov. Morris in the campaign and keep him on top of the leader poll, there is only one constituent that stands in the way of Gov. Morris’s victory, and that is Arkansas Senator Pullman with his over eager campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). Both candidates seek to win Ohio’s Democratic primary election. If Gov. Morris can gain Ohio’s delegates, he will win the Democratic nomination. Without the win, the presidential nomination goes out the window.
Naive and less jaded than Paul, Stephen truly believes in Morris. Like many other staffers, Stephen believes a presidential win will gain him a White House job. When Stephen runs into Molly (Evan Rachel Wood), a twenty year old campaign intern, who is also the daughter of the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he breaks the one cardinal rule of the campaign trail: “Don’t screw the interns.” Very soon after their first encounter, Molly drops a bombshell on Stephen. This piece of news could destroy the campaign for Morris. In an amazing turn of events, Stephan must decided to stay with Morris or jump ship over to Tom Duffy’s campaign with Senator Pullman. Forced into silence by political corruption from Duffy and press manipulation by determined journalist, Ida (Marisa Tomei), who is eager for any and all campaign stories; Stephen must figure out who to trust and who he has to black mail in order to secure his dream job. Caught between what is right and what he has to do to survive, Stephan must decide whether winning is everything.
The drama of the film is only heightened by the superb acting dished out by Clooney, Hoffman, Tomei, Gosling, and Giamatti. Each one seemingly captivates and enthralls each scene they are in, even the ones that they share together. Even Evan Rachel Wood, who is only present for a couple of scenes, seems turn out a decent performance. It’s clear that The Ides of March won’t be for everyone. With its obvious Republican bashing and Obama-esque campaign posters looming in a multitude of scenes, the film lends itself to a cynical take on politicians and the campaigns they run. The Idles of March won’t leave you with any “hope” about politics or anything in general. Instead, the film offers only realism instead of “hope.” The Idles of March, released during an election year, strikes a blow at the current political campaigns for presidential candidacy and leaves the audience questioning the morality of politics in the United States.
