The Ides of March takes place during the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, when an up-and-coming campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate’s shot at the presidency.
THE IDES OF MARCH is an incredibly smart movie, it’s the full on political drama that ticks all the boxes but it also brings a pretty sensational story to the screen. George Clooney this time around is behind the camera, on screen and even pulls himself a credit for writing the screenplay seems there’s nothing slowing Clooney down dipping his toes into every piece of the pie, I wonder what’s next?
THE IDES OF MARCH pits together the crème de la crème of acting talent including Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Jeffrey Wright and Marisa Tomei with extremely solid performances throughout there is really nothing I can dissect. The film flows really well, its engaging, you never get bored… this film just oozes talent and charisma. The relationships between the characters really pop from the explosive dialog between Gosling and Hoffman to the relationship that forms between Goslings character and Evan Rachel Woods character Molly.
Ryan Gosling is having a huge year; with one of the best performances of the year in the film ‘Drive’ he just seems to slip in and out of any role with ease. Clooney as the Governor running in the Presidential race funnily enough he pulls off the Politian right at certain points in the film I would have voted for him. Philip Seymour Hoffman as Paul Zara the Campaign Manager of Clooney’s character, I just don’t know what it is about him but every time I see him on screen I just want to give him a hug he is just such an impressive actor his range is flawless. Paul Giamatti as the opposing teams Campaign Manager once again I loved him in his role in ‘Sideways’ and ever since then I’ve loved every single film he’s been in. We do see a bit of a different side to characters Marisa Tomei usually plays but yet again Clooney failed to disappoint with his casting choices, he nailed every single one.
There’s really nothing wrong with this film, but I would have liked it to have been a bit longer at a runtime of about 101minutes it just seemed there was a bit more of the story to tell. It’s a solid contender for my top ten film list for 2011 and for any fans of Political drama’s this is the film to see this year.
THE IDES OF MARCH is in cinemas from the 24th of November.
I give this film 4.5 out of 5 stars.