“Beware the Ides of March” beseeches the soothsayer in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Hubris had the warning go unheeded and a political assassination ensued.
George Clooney’s latest producing/writing/directing/acting gig, THE IDES OF MARCH (M) is based on a play called FARRAGUT NORTH by Beau Willimon. The new title is a much better fit.
Ryan Gosling plays a young, ambitious, media savvy staffer campaigning for Clooney’s Democratic Party’s presidential primary hopeful who is approached by rival Democratic Party campaign captain, played by Paul Giamatti.
Ambition, loyalty, betrayal and revenge makes up the vertebrae of this narrative where political backbone is given Machiavellian manipulation through faction fighting and moral turpitude.
Fans of THE WEST WING will relish this early Christmas treat as should any audience who appreciate sharp, quick witted dialogue and a thriller plot that prods at the political process.
And what a cast! Gosling goes from strength to strength from picture to picture, this latest hot on the heels of his star turn in CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE and DRIVE.
Clooney exudes all the charm, charisma and confidence of a presidential candidate and statesman, almost too good to be true.
Paul Giammatti is gritty, grounded, genuine, as is Philip Seymour Hoffman as Clooney’s campaign captain. His slightly seedy, disheveled but sharp and politically astute character reminded me of a character drawn with a mixture of Richo with some Bob Ellis.
Marissa Tomei shines as the tenacious terrier reporter whose stories can make or break political contenders and Evan Rachel Wood is heartbreaking as the intern that tears the internal affairs, both literally and figuratively, off the campaign caravan.
Dirty tricks, double dealings, private and public improprieties, THE IDES OF MARCH has it all, including the ashes in the mouth that comes with the compromise of idealism being back stabbed by the prevailing pragmatism of ‘whatever it takes.”
© Richard Cotter
23rd November, 2011
Tags: THE IDES OF MARCH, George Clooney, FARRAGUT NORTH, Beau Willimon, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marissa Tomei.