Title: Ides of March
Year: 2011
Director: George Clooney
Country: U.S
Language: English
Country: U.S
Language: English
As you can tell from my reviews on Moneyball and The Help I’m
not really a fan of recycled material that is not used in an interesting or
innovative way. Harold and Maude is
an example of a film that had the recycled rich and poor person love story
however the way it was used was absolutely fascinating. Ides of March is a recycled
story about the corruption of politicians and the crushing experience of
running an American political campaign. Hey everybody, did you know that
politics can often be crooked? You did! Wow! Ides of March tells us something everybody already knew about
American politics. It’s corrupt, we get it. If this was made back in 2000, when
George Bush stole office from Al Gore, then perhaps this film could have had
some steam. It might’ve been incredibly controversial and still known to this
day. However this is 2012, we are near the peak of the information era, this
film presents old news.
Forget republicans, this film is really only about
democrats. Because surely a democrat can’t be corrupted right? Enter Stephen
Myers (Ryan Gosling), a press secretary who’s job is mainly to lie. He works
for a fella named Mike Morris (George Clooney) who’s campaign manager is Paul
Zera (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). They’re running against Michael Mantell and
Paul Giamatti. Wow, this film has a noteworthy cast selection. Many people will
see this film, just because of the great cast. I would argue that, like in many
films, a huge ensemble cast likely means that the film is utter crap.
Surprise, surprise. Every character except the young fella
(Ryan Gosling) is cynical and underhanded. Well, for a short while at least.
See the theme in this film is that even good democratic politicians can become
corrupted by their ambitions and the world around them. You might think of Ides of March as a less interesting and
less funny political version of All About
Eve. There seems to be a great resemblance between Ryan Gosling/Stephen
Myers and Anne Baxter/ Eve. While this film may evoke discussions on the nature
of man, it has done nothing that every other political film has done before.
Like I said, the film reveals no new information. In the era
of information everything this film presents has already been well known. The
story has been written several times, and that “insider story” is completely
lost. The dirty laundry that’s attempted to be exposed has already been out
years ago. The acting in this film, because it is filled with established
actors, is well done. There are few films, if any, that Phillip Seymour Hoffman
and Paul Giamatti have acted poorly in. Ryan Gosling is incredibly convincing,
as he is in many of his films like Blue
Valentine and Lars and the Real Girl.
In conclusion, I think George Clooney was too aware that he
was trying to make a serious political film. He thinks this film airs more
dirty laundry than it actually does. This is 2012, the era of making dirty
political films is over. Quite shoving the idea down our throats, we understand
that politics is a dirty minefield. We understand that politicians can become
corrupted. Recycled material can only be fresh if you do something creative
with it. Piss on it! 1/5
Next 5 Reviews
1. Midnight in Paris- 2011
2. The Hunger Games- 2012
3. 50/50- 2011
4. Inception- 2010
5. Keyhole- 2011
2. The Hunger Games- 2012
3. 50/50- 2011
4. Inception- 2010
5. Keyhole- 2011