The Ides of March
What started out like an awesome Aaron Sorkin-y political film quickly devolved into Primary Colors in present day. George Clooney played a Democratic candidate in the Ohio primary and his campaign was run by Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ryan Gosling. It was good, don't get me wrong. The writing was solid - funny where needed, poignant where necessary. But it was too short and never delved into the political process at all - it became a story about what happens when Gosling finds out Clooney got an intern pregnant. That was pretty much the summary of the film. The best things about the film were Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, who is always a genius.
The greatest line was when Gosling confronted Clooney about the affair, telling him that he broke the number one rule in politics, "You can lie, you can cheat, you can start a war, you can bankrupt the country. But you can't fuck the intern." Good stuff. Funny and also true. Gosling's character was difficult to portray because he truly believe that Clooney was the future and would be the kind of president the country needed - hope, Obama, that whole thing. Even though Marisa Tomei tried to foreshadow the problem, Gosling believed in his candidate wholeheartedly. By the close of the film, he was cold and blank, but it was clear that he was struggling in the back of his mind. He reached the point that he seemed to finally understand that politics is not about feelings, it is about what you can pull off and how you can screw the other guy.
This could have been a really great film, but it fell short. It was a good political film, but it left you feeling like you needed more than the shallow surface story that was presented. The Ides of March (also not a great title) is up for Golden Globes in the following categories: Best Drama, Best Actor in a Drama (Gosling), Best Director (Clooney), and Best Screenplay. I will reserve my judgment on the categories until I have seen all of the films nominated... I hope this is not the best 2011 had to offer, or this will be a long few weeks for me.
The greatest line was when Gosling confronted Clooney about the affair, telling him that he broke the number one rule in politics, "You can lie, you can cheat, you can start a war, you can bankrupt the country. But you can't fuck the intern." Good stuff. Funny and also true. Gosling's character was difficult to portray because he truly believe that Clooney was the future and would be the kind of president the country needed - hope, Obama, that whole thing. Even though Marisa Tomei tried to foreshadow the problem, Gosling believed in his candidate wholeheartedly. By the close of the film, he was cold and blank, but it was clear that he was struggling in the back of his mind. He reached the point that he seemed to finally understand that politics is not about feelings, it is about what you can pull off and how you can screw the other guy.
This could have been a really great film, but it fell short. It was a good political film, but it left you feeling like you needed more than the shallow surface story that was presented. The Ides of March (also not a great title) is up for Golden Globes in the following categories: Best Drama, Best Actor in a Drama (Gosling), Best Director (Clooney), and Best Screenplay. I will reserve my judgment on the categories until I have seen all of the films nominated... I hope this is not the best 2011 had to offer, or this will be a long few weeks for me.
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