By: Justine Quintana
“The Ides of March” is a story of a modern day political campaign entailing the ‘hush-hush’ situations that happen behind the scenes and the limits one dedicated second-in-command will go to.
The film stars Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers and George Clooney as Mike Morris. Meyers has to not only save his career, but also the career of the governor he is campaigning for, Morris.
Meyers brings charismatic wit to the table while Morris reveals the truths behind the friendly smile of a governor. Audiences get a first-hand look at the politics involved in a campaign and the struggles that those working on it go through to keep their candidate looking as picture-perfect as possible.
Trouble within the Morris campaign begins when Meyers receives an unsuspecting phone call from an opposing campaign manager, detailing a time and place for a secret meeting and a shocking offer.
From there on, Meyers encounters various trials of his loyalty to the governor and his campaign. His secret meeting turned out to be not so secret when his journalist friend threatens to blackmail him with the information she has about his encounter with the opposing campaign manager, in order to get insider information about the Morris campaign.
To add on to his problems, Meyers discovers a horrible secret about Morris from an intern and is forced to deal with the problem behind closed doors in order to keep Morris in the lead. Each scene keeps viewers engaged with interesting conversation between the characters and plenty of twists in the plot to keep a viewer guessing until the end.
Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Morris’s campaign manager, a character that is loyalty personified and a person of much experience in the political world.
Paul Giamitti plays the opposing campaign manager and portrays a man who will do anything to get his candidate to win. Evan Rachel Wood plays a young intern for the Morris campaign who is knowledgeable beyond her years and whose innocent appearing face could fool just about anyone.
This is not a typical left or right wing pushing movie, but an inside story of what really goes on throughout a campaign.
Although some may argue that the dirty politician storyline has been worn out, “The Ides of March” brings a reoccurring theme of loyalty that plays a bigger role than expected. This movie may not offer any particular new information about democrats or republicans, but it definitely does its job of keeping the audience engaged and entertained.
Clooney not only starred in this movie, but he also directed it. Because of this, audiences may find his own direct democratic views within the movie. Anyone who enjoys a good debate, unexpected twists, or Gosling’s award-winning acting would be highly advised to go see this movie.
“The Ides of March” runs for one hour and 42 minutes and is rated R for pervasive language.