IDES OF MARCH

“IDES OF MARCH” (Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei & Jeffrey Wright)

An impressive cast gives an impressive over-all performance in this politically-charged film, but it is Ryan Gosling’s character & portrayal that makes this a potential Best Picture contender.
I can see where a criticism for being TOO political would turn some viewers off, but I enjoyed the predicament that Steven Myers (Gosling) finds himself mired in as he found himself wading thru muck that kept getting thicker & thicker as the plot unraveled against him.
The set-up; George Clooney plays Governor Mike Morris, a democrat front-runner in the next presidential election. His lone opponent is an older, less exciting politician named Pullman (& as we Washingtonians all know – there is nothing duller than Pullman – Sorry, Cougar fans, but it’s true & you know it)
What Pullman has going for him is a savvy campaign organizer named Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) who sees Steve Myers as being the difference between his candidate winning the party’s nomination or losing it, as Myers works for the charismatic, able to connect with the younger voters Governor Morris.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, flawless as always, plays Paul Zara, Morris’s chief advisor. Paul has been-thru-the-campaign-wars-many-times as well & is appalled when Steven tells him that he met with Duffy and how the opposition strategist tried to steal him away from the Morris team.
Evan Rachel Wood is Molly Stearns, the daughter of a current U.S. Senator who goes to work as an intern in the Morris-For-President campaign headquarters. She takes a shine to handsome Mr. Myers & throws herself at him. He catches her & the second time that they have sexual relations Molly’s cell phone goes off at 2:00 in the morning while she’s sleeping. Steven picks up the phone, which then goes dead. He asks about any ex-boyfriend’s that he has to worry about & she tells him there’s no one...
Jeffrey Wright is kind of boring as Senator Thompson, a man who holds the key for either candidate to succeed in winning the state of Ohio & more-than-likely propelling them to the democratic nomination. Gov. Morris dislikes the Senator & doesn’t want to ‘give in’ to the sleazeball’s demand of attaining a cabinet post in exchange for his endorsement. And I don't mean to demean Wright's performance, it is spot on as most Senator's are exceptionally boring...
Throw in Marisa Tomei as a reporter that will do anything to dig up any inside scoops, or dirty laundry to make a name for herself & this cast of characters makes for an intriguing stew in which to boil a pot full of plot.
The person who was on the other end of the 2:00 AM phone call & what he shared with Molly becomes the focal point which gets Steven embroiled in a scandal which could win or lose the nomination for either candidate.
How Steven decides to ‘fix’ the situation is what ends up costing him his career & possibly his life. The driving question running thru my mind during this film was – How is he going to get out of this mess?
Where “Ides Of March” failed on me though was in the final scene. I hated the way it ended. I wanted to hear the answer to the question that was asked just before the screen went black & the credits started to roll. Yes, I felt a bit cheated by the failure to disclose how this story was going to be ‘spun’ by the professional spinners, yet still, I did enjoy the ride up until I was cut off from any further communication by the filmmaker...
Bastard.