****
George Clooney once again proves his
directorial chops with Ides of March, a film about the dissolution of
political ideals and betrayal of one’s principles and tight held beliefs in the
struggle to not only do what’s right, but win in the total war climate of
politics. What begins as a sunny-side Dr. Jekyll in the fine tradition of The
West Wing or Mr Smith Goes to Washington becomes the malformed Mr
Hyde we know and loathe from CNN. No one gets literally stabbed in The Ides
of March, but the knife does turn.
Based on the play Beau Willimon Farragut
North and adapted to the screen by Clooney and his writing partner Grant
Heslov, Ides, although not inspired by actual events, is probably more
closely related to the scandal involving former Presidential candidate John Edwards
than anything suffered by current President Barack Obama. Against the backdrop
of the Democratic primary in Ohio, two worthy but wholly different candidates are in a close race for
the nomination.
The more liberal of the two is Governor
Mike Morris (Clooney), whose campaign team includes the experienced political
operative Paul (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and his more idealistic deputy Stephen
(Ryan Gosling). Morris has a healthy lead, but a close race in Ohio could break
either way, which could either mean a huge boost for his rival, or Morris’
securing of the Democratic nomination. But this isn’t a movie about Morris, but
about Stephen, whose own beliefs are tested and, yes, crushed, in the face of
the corrupting influence of politics. A simple meeting with the rival campaign
manager becomes a question of trust; a romance pursued with a lovely intern
leads to some startling revelations.
Anchored by an excellent performance by
Gosling, Ides is startling for how quickly and easily one man’s idealism
can fall apart and be betrayed, and not just by those he trusted, but himself
too. Gosling gets to do a little bit of everything here: the self-assured
operative at the top his game, the spiteful victim watching his well-laid world
coming apart while getting progressively spiteful, and eventually the
embittered survivor. Somewhere in there he’s also the charming romantic lead;
Gosling’s chemistry with Evan Rachel Wood as Morris intern Molly, is electric
and they definitely share one of the best “meet cute” moments in recent film
memory.
But it is hard to pinpoint a stand-up
supporting player in a cast this good. Clooney himself it subtly sublime as
Morris, and confidently lets Gosling take the lead and make it his movie.
Hoffman seems appropriately frumpy after years of politicking and is
well-matched by Paul Giamatti, who plays friendly conniving very well as
Hoffman’s opposite on the rival campaign. Marisa Tomei has a small part as a
journalist friendly with both Stephen and Paul, and manages to set a tone despite
the few scenes she’s in. And Jeffrey Wright also casts a long shadow as the
senator on whom all political aspirations depend.
But the true genius at work in the film is
how methodically everything turns. What begins as a movie that’s almost affectionate
for the romance of politics, the naïve ideal that good people can do good work
and campaign on their ideals, is not so much shattered as slowly decomposed
over the course of the film’s running time. We all want to think that ideas
mean more than perception, and that we want our leaders to be human while still
being infallible, but what happens when we think we can have both ways and then
realize we can’t, and that we were never going to? The final shot of Gosling,
and the look on his face as he stares into the camera, sells the audience on
just how far Stephen has fallen, and how much he can’t even believe it himself.
Still, I don’t think Ides of March is
a politically cynical film. Perhaps in one way it can be seen as a plebiscite
about politics in Obama’s America and
is a warning about putting all your hopes on a single person to fix the
tremendous faults and problems of our time. Or perhaps the greatest fault to
human ideals is human failings, and that if you can find a leader who inspires
your best and holds many of the things you believe in to be true, you should
expect there may be another penny to drop. In any event, Clooney ably shows again
that in front of or behind the camera he has a unique voice and a nearly
unmatched eye for interesting material.
Watch, Rent, Buy, Devour: Devour
