The Ides of March

2.5/4

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei

Rated R for Pervasive Language

Whenever you’re in the spotlight, be it a politician or a celebrity, perception is everything.  However innocent or misunderstood an action may be is irrelevant.  All that matters is how it looks, or more importantly, how it can be spun.  The event that serves as the catalyst for the film, a meeting between two political rivals, is far from scandalous.  But because there is no evidence of what really happened, it proves devastating for all involved.

Stephen Meyers (Gosling) is the Junior Campaign Manager for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney), a Democrat from Pennsylvania who is hoping to sit in the White House.  Meyers is a huge Morris booster; he’s served on a few campaigns before, but this is the first guy he whole-heartedly believes in.  Meyers is very good at his job, which attracts the attention of Tom Duffy (Giamatti), the Campaign Manager of Morris’ rival.  Duffy asks to meet Meyers in private to try to win him over to the dark side, so to speak.  What ensues is a tale of betrayal, double-crosses, and revenge.

The cast is first-rate.  Gosling, Clooney, Hoffman, Giamatti, Tomei.  All have been at least nominated for an Oscar (three of whom have won), and the other star of the cast, Evan Rachel Wood, should have been nominated for her breathtakingly honest performance in “Thirteen.”  And yet, no one really stands out.  To be sure, they all do their jobs, but they appear to be coasting through.  Even Gosling, who is present in every scene and is usually impeccable, is sometimes sloppy.

George Clooney has never been a conventional director, but he has talent behind the camera.  Unfortunately, the script, which he co-wrote with his friend and production partner, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon (upon whose play the film is based) is surprisingly shallow.  Politics is dirty, and it’s impossible to get out on top while coming out unscathed.  They’ll get no argument from me, but for a full length movie, that’s extremely limiting and an obvious thesis.  In order to succeed, Clooney must present new ideas, old ideas in ways that truly grab us, or an array of interesting and multi-layered characters.  Sadly, Clooney isn’t able to do any of these.

Part of the reason is that there are too many characters, and there’s nothing for the actors to really work with.  Ryan Gosling is good, although he sometimes underplays the role too much.  Hoffman and Giamatti are the best performers since they have been given the meatiest roles.  Both Duffy and Paul Zara (Morris’s campaign manager, played by Hoffman) are well educated in dirty politics, and they know how to manipulate people in order to serve their own ends.  Evan Rachel Wood is terrific as Molly, the young intern from a political family who has a few secrets of her own.  She’ll make you wonder why she hasn’t accepted more roles of late.  Marisa Tomei is utterly wasted as the snoopy journalist whose alliances shift depending on what story she can write.

There is some enjoyment in the scenes when all the backstabbing and double-crosses take place, but for the most part, it’s too little too late.