Clooney paints grim political reality
Politics is a filthy, soul-destroying business and it doesn’t get much dirtier than election campaigns.
Votes are bought or stolen, scandals are spun and hushed, principles are crushed, and the media is seduced and manipulated. Or at least that’s what the movies tell us, and politicians – particularly US ones – certainly don’t go out of their way to prove Hollywood wrong.
The Ides of March doesn’t suggest anything we haven’t seen before, but it does expose the dark heart of American politics with style and possibly the best cast this side of Glengarry Glenross. Paul Giamatti and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the same movie is drool bucket material, not to mention Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei and George Clooney – who also directs.
The picture orbits around Gosling’s idealistic Stephen Myers, press secretary for Pennsylvania Governor Mike Morris who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination to run for president.
The election race is heating up, Morris in a tight battle with another candidate as the campaign pulls into the vital Ohio primary election. At only 30, Myers is considered a master spin doctor, is full of confidence and, we’re at least lead to believe, is totally committed to Morris – the man and his message.
But Myers’ principles and personal ambitions become murky
The Ides of March. after the opposition campaign manager (Giamatti) lures him to a secret meeting and tells him he’s on the wrong team. The fallout is immense.
For much of the picture’s middle, my main fascination was getting a handle on Myers and whether his decisionmaking and corruption is fuelled by disillusionment or his own ruthlessness. Clooney astutely ensures we know enough about Myers to like him, but not know him.
Modern films about American politics usually sweeten the drab sets, stiff ties and electioneering babble with a buoyant dose of satire ( Wag the Dog, Bullworth, Bob Roberts, Charlie Wilson’s War) or suggest we’re getting the inside scoop on actual events ( True Colours, Nixon, W).
That The Ides of March does neither is its most distinguishing quality. The lack of respite from its disheartening themes also makes it a tricky movie to get swept up in.
Packed with intrigue and marvellous sermons, the distinguished tone is reminiscent of Clooney’s sublime Good Night, and Good Luck – but there is no Ed Murrow for us to hang our hearts on. The Ides of March could be the antithesis of that picture – here well- meaning, principled men are tested and fail.
The moral confusion demands characters keep their distance from the audience and, quite purposefully, the most honourable sod in the game – Philip Seymour Hoffman’s seasoned campaign manager – is the least charming.
The Ides of March may not amount to much more than the sum of its monologues, but it’s a clever, chilling depiction of morality disintegrating and the performances are top-notch.