Written by James Rawson, New Media, DFI

Film: The Ides of March
Year: 2011
Director: George Clooney
Stars: Paul Giamatti, George Clooney and Philip Seymour Hoffman
Genre: Drama

In 2005 ‘Good Night and Good Luck‘ became one of the most successful and acclaimed political films of the Bush era. Directed by George Clooney and produced by Grant Beslov, the film used 1950s’ anti-communist hysteria to hold a mirror up to post 9/11 America, ‘the war on terror’, and the current witch hunt that was devouring the country. Clooney and Beslov worked together again for 2008’s ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats‘ throwing the American political system another curveball: a look inside the insane (and very real) investigations into ‘psychic soldiers’ undergone by the US government in the 1990s.

Their third writing/directing collaboration, ‘The Ides of March’ is also the first feature output from their new production company Smoke House Pictures. Based on Beau Willimon’s award winning play ‘Farragut North, the calibre of talent on board is certainly impressive: directed by Clooney, it stars current leading man of choice Ryan Gosling, and a supporting cast of Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffmann and Paul Giamatti.

‘The Ides of March’ follows Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling ): a young , ambitious and idealistic political campaign manager, working around the clock to steer Democrat political candidate Mike Morris (George Clooney) to success in the Ohio primaries, and then onto the presidency. Bright eyed and optimistic he firmly believes that democracy will prevail, the US constitution stands true and that nothing bad happens when you’re trying to do the right thing. In contrast is Stephen’s boss Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffmann), a cynical, weathered campaign veteran who knows there’s a game to be played, and that sometimes you need to pull some dirty tricks for the greater good.

As the vote for the primary heats up, the politics quickly gets nastier. Who will the powerful Senator endorse, and which candidate’s offering him a White House job? Should Stephen swap campaigns to further his career? And who’s leaking stories to the press?

While the script is a little light on action, ‘The Ides of March’ remains consistently engaging thanks to its punchy dialogue and superb cast. However, running a straight political drama set in the present day means that, as an audience, we expect a little more insight than ‘sometimes you have to play dirty to succeed in politics’. ‘The Ides of March’ doesn’t deliver on that front. Without the historical allegory of ‘Good Night and Good Luck’, or the quirky viewpoint of ‘The Men Who Stare At Goats’, Clooney and Beslov’s latest outing remains enjoyable, if not particularly memorable.

All said, ‘The Ides of March’ makes a refreshing change from the standard Hollywood/Bollywood fare that is released in the region, and is hopefully an indicator of more heavyweight drama making its way into Doha cinemas.
Strong language and adult themes means that ‘The Ides of March’ may not be suitable for some younger viewers.