Bill Gibron is a veteran film critic from Tampa, Florida.Scandal in politics is nothing new. It's been a part of the process since favors could be fostered with the drop of a dollar. So when a movie like The Ides of March hints that it will offer up yet another look at a controversial candidate beset by the dire decisions of a bunch of power hungry yes men, the stakes are raised substantially. After all, there's everything from All the President's Men to Primary Colors to contend with, and with the 24 hour news cycle seemingly breaking a new outrage nightly (if not hourly), expectations within such a storyline are very high indeed. That's what makes The Ides of March all the more disconcerting. While well acted and expertly directed, it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know or suspect. Instead of really shocking us with something unsavory, we wind up walking down the same sex scandal road. In the hotly contested battle for the Democratic Party's nomination for President, two candidates have emerged - the favored Mike Morris (George Clooney), Governor of Pennsylvania and sitting Senator Pullman (Michael Mantell). The former is guided by the political pro Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and heralded young gun Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling). The latter is led by seasoned vet Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti). In the key state of Ohio, trouble starts brewing between the camps.
Both want the endorsement of former contender Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright) and are hounded by New York Times reporter Ida Horowicz (Marisa Tomei). When a young intern (Evan Rachel Wood) in Morris's camp befriends Stephen, her subsequently discovered secret sets things spiraling out of control. It leaves our earnest consultant wondering if he can continue working for someone so flawed, as well as what to do with such potentially explosive information.
You expect better from George Clooney. From Confessions of a Dangerous Mind to Good Night and Good Luck (Heck, even Leatherheads), he's an interesting filmmaker with an equally unusual eye for material. From a baffling biopic of one of TV's most memorable producers to the coming of age of professional football, he knows source. So it's disappointing the something like The Ides of March isn't more compelling. Clooney coming to the political arena with his obvious creative and philosophical bent boldly displayed should be something sensational. Instead, the performances and expert highlighting of same have to make up for a core conceit that's as old as the mistress or the missing campaign funds. We don't much care what did or did not happen in a hotel room in Iowa, but the movie makes a massive mountain out of this otherwise minor personal molehill.
The source material, a play entitled Farragut North, obviously believed that bravura stage acting would overcome the derivative nature of the narrative. On film, such connections are tenuous at best. The audience has to believe in the people and issues at hand or they will tune out and turn off. Here, no matter how great Gosling, Hoffman, Giamatti, Tomei or Wood are -- and they are indeed excellent -- the reason for all the internal uproar and professional backstabbing is specious at best. Without spoiling the surprise, it's the kind of trouble that probably plaques most in positions of power and yet never makes it beyond a bevy of well-paid problem solvers.Clooney clearly wants to send a message to the American people. He wants them to understand that politics have been and always will be dirty, that even the most noble and likeminded among the participants will eventually fall into the temptations that come with such a commitment. It's just too bad then that the eventual reveal is so redundant. We expect more from the star...and the subjects he chooses to champion.
