My affection for George Clooney is no secret here at The Video Station, so when it was suggested that I review The Ides of March (in which he both directs and stars) I did so with minimal reluctance. I figured there were worse ways to spend an afternoon.
Clooney has come a long way since my crush on him was first initiated, on the TV series Roseanne. He appeared in a long list of various and sundry television shows and bad movies before his portrayal of Dr. Doug Ross on E.R. made him a household name. In the late-1990s, he began a more permanent transition to the silver screen. At the Telluride Film Festival last September, Clooney admitted that a big budget doesn’t guarantee a good movie. He self-effacingly joked about his box office bombs Batman and Robin (1997) and The Peacemaker (1997), and his realization that he could generate more passion for smaller projects with better scripts. His choices have grown more substantive in recent years. His work often addresses political or ethical conflicts as in Three Kings (1999), Syriana (2005), Good Night and Good Luck (2005), Michael Clayton (2007) and Up in the Air (2009). The Ides of March continues this topic of exploration. The $12 million budget was raised piecemeal as Clooney pitched the movie over and over to foreign executives “like a door to door salesman” because Hollywood studios wouldn’t back the controversial material. As a director, Clooney believes that the purpose of film is to reflect what goes on in our culture and to raise questions. When discussing movies that influenced him, he announced that in his opinion, the best era of filmmaking occurred between 1964 and 1976. He named Network (1976) as his all-time favorite movie. In addition to his keen awareness of film history, Clooney understands the importance of the camera as a character. His skills have been recognized. He received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director for Ides. Stay tuned for the DVD release of The Descendants, for which Clooney won the Golden Globe for Best Actor. In the meantime, you can revisit his comedic stint in the Coen Brothers‘ cult classic O’ Brother Where Art Thou? (2000).
But enough about George. The Ides of March also stars one of my other favorite actors, Ryan Gosling, who has an impressive range of characters that continues to expand. In the last year, we’ve seen him portray a working-class husband in Blue Valentine (2010), an alleged wife murderer in All Good Things (2010), a ladies’ man in Crazy Stupid Love (2011), and a quiet stunt/getaway driver in the much acclaimed Drive (coming out 1/31/12 on DVD). My personal favorite, however, is the socially awkward but totally endearing Lars in Lars and the Real Girl (2007). Other performances worth checking out include Gosling as: a high school teacher with a drug habit in Half Nelson (2006), a Jewish neo-Nazi in The Believer (2001) and a high school sociopath in Murder By Numbers (2002).
In The Ides of March, Gosling plays an up-and-coming staffer to a Democratic presidential candidate (Clooney). During the course of the campaign trail, he loses his idealistic innocence and learns to play the dirty game of politics. The impressive supporting cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman (Best Actor winner for Capote, 2005) and Paul Giamatti (nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Cinderella Man, 2005) as rival campaign managers, Marisa Tomei (Best Supporting Actress winner for My Cousin Vinny, 1993) as a New York Times journalist, and Evan Rachel Wood (who also stars in the recently released series Mildred Pierce) as the flirtatious and wise-beyond-her-years intern.
The titular reference to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar reveals the film’s conceptual theme. Loyalty is hard to find in a world where every move is a strategy to advance one’s own career or obtain votes, where “back-stabbing” and betrayal are common. Who can you really trust if every word is scripted and promises are extended without any intention of being kept? These topics are especially pertinent as we hunker down for the next election.
The capably-acted film turns out to be more of a thriller than a drama, but the suspense is less about who will win the primary than if anyone in politics can escape the game with his or her integrity intact. Some interesting cinematic moments include an homage to the poignant “rainy window” scene from In Cold Blood (1967).
If you can’t get enough of the this season’s presidential candidates on the news, perhaps you may be inspired to rent some other films featuring fictional politicians: The Contender (2000) starring Joan Allen, The Candidate (1972) starring Robert Redford, Bob Roberts (1992) starring Tim Robbins, Bulworth (1998) starring Warren Beatty, or Dave (1993) starring Kevin Kline. And there’s always The West Wing, with Martin Sheen. Or the based-on-a-true-story options: John Travolta as Bill Clinton in Primary Colors (1998) and W (2008) with Josh Brolin as George Bush. If you are feeling a little adventurous, I would recommend Death of a President (2006). We also have plenty of political documentaries. All available right here at The Video Station. Upholding your constitutional right to rent movies of your choice since 1982. Don’t forget to vote for your Oscar picks! Ballots coming soon… – [DVD]
Drama
Rated R
[...] THE IDES OF MARCH [...]